State Commission Gives Green Light to Close SF’s Great Highway to Cars

San Francisco on Thursday received state approval to proceed with closing a 2-mile section of the Great Highway to car traffic as early as spring 2025, and to begin planning a long-term park on that stretch of road. The car-free highway will have separate lanes for pedestrians and cyclists, along with a new continuous bike lane connecting Daly City to Golden Gate Park.

San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio, at Ocean Beach in July for a political event.

Attempt to Recall SF Supervisor Engardio Faces Uphill Battle

An effort is under way to recall District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio for supporting the closure of a 2-mile section of the Great Highway to cars. Anti-incumbent sentiment persists in San Francisco, but wealthy donors are unlikely to support a recall and would probably back the supervisor financially should he face voters in a special election.

Vehicles drive along San Francisco’s the Upper Great Highway.

Analysis: What Would Really Happen to Traffic if SF’s Great Highway Closed?

Perhaps no local issue in this election is more contentious than Proposition K, which would close the Upper Great Highway to cars and move it closer to becoming a park.

Supporters and opponents have sparred over how the measure’s passage would affect traffic in San Francisco. To find out what’s true, we examined multiple studies, and spoke with their authors and experts not affiliated with the city.

Children outside a school.

Proposition J — Increase Oversight of City Funding for Children and Youth Programs

See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition J would create an oversight body to evaluate local government expenditures on programs benefiting children and youths. If the oversight team discovered inappropriate or unnecessary spending, officials could withhold funds.

A woman walks out of the Chinatown Public Health Center.

Proposition B — Bonds to Enhance Health Care Facilities and Public Spaces

See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition B would let San Francisco borrow up to $390 million to carry out infrastructure and other projects, like upgrading health care facilities, creating homeless shelter, repaving roads and renovating Harvey Milk Plaza, the Castro neighborhood spot honoring the city’s first openly gay supervisor, who along with Mayor George Moscone was assassinated in 1978. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.

A school bus parked in front of Mission High School in San Francisco.

Proposition A — Bonds to Improve SF Schools

See our November 2024 SF Voter Guide for a nonpartisan analysis of measures on the San Francisco ballot, for the election occurring Nov. 5, 2024. The following measure is on that ballot. Proposition A would let the San Francisco Unified School District borrow up to $790 million to upgrade, repair and retrofit its campuses and other properties, and to build a facility that would produce high-quality meals for students. Listen to a summary of what this ballot measure would do.

Asian Americans Have Made Little of Chinatown’s Art. A New Tool Could Change That

When you think about San Francisco’s Chinatown, the first thing that comes to mind might be its art: pagoda-style architecture and dragon-decorated street lamps that showcase the ancient, exotic culture of a civilization half the globe away. 

It might surprise you to learn that Asian artists created little of that art, and the works have seldom told the stories of the local community that has lived there for over a century. Local groups are trying to change that with the Chinatown Artist Registry.