Proposition G asks San Francisco voters to once again pick a side in the years-long parkland-vs.-roadway clash along Ocean Beach. The measure seeks to turn the Upper Great Highway back into a mixed-use area — maintaining parts of Sunset Dunes Park while allowing private vehicle traffic during weekdays.
The passage of an earlier measure — Proposition K in November 2024 — turned the Upper Great Highway into a full-time park. Private vehicles are currently prohibited from accessing the former roadways. The November 2026 measure would reopen the roads between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard to private vehicles on weekdays and restrict vehicle access from 6 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Monday and on holidays.
Proponents say the measure takes a balanced approach: Traffic congestion in the surrounding neighborhoods will be reduced on busy weekdays, while the park is preserved for its tens of thousands of visitors on weekends and holidays.
Opponents say the measure would destroy the existing park, harm the environment and cost the city millions of dollars.
A simple majority “yes” vote would allow private vehicles on the Upper Great Highway during the week. A “no” vote would preserve Sunset Dunes Park as a vehicle-restricted area at all times.
Contentious history
The Upper Great Highway was first closed to automotive traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic to create a recreational space for San Franciscans and accommodate social distancing, which was recommended to reduce spread of the novel coronavirus. From 2021 to 2024, the area operated in a hybrid fashion, first allowing private vehicles on weekdays, and then only on weekends so the city could collect park-usage data.
In 2024, San Francisco voters narrowly approved Proposition K, which transformed the Upper Great Highway into a full-time park and prohibited vehicle access. Voters in District 4, which includes the park, opposed the proposition at a much higher rate than their counterparts citywide. While 45% of San Francisco voters opposed Proposition K, 64% of voters in District 4 opposed the measure.
Proposition K in 2024 was sponsored by then-District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, alongside four other supervisors. Following that election, District 4 voters organized a successful recall campaign against Engardio, largely over his lack of engagement with residents before he endorsed what turned out to be a highly controversial measure. Proposition K also reopened wounds for some members of San Francisco’s Chinese American community.
Despite the successful recall effort, those opposed to reopening the Upper Great Highway say the group against Sunset Dunes Park is small, noting that voter turnout for the recall election in 2025 was just 42.85%.
Supporters: neighborhood traffic worse
Proponents say complete closure of the Upper Great Highway places an undue burden on nearby residents and has increased traffic injuries in Sunset neighborhoods. They want to return to the compromise in place from 2021 to 2024, and say that reopening the Upper Great Highway to private vehicles wouldn’t destroy the existing park.
Proponent letters point out issues of inequity for nearby residents due to transit inconveniences.
“Residents spend more time getting to work, taking their children to school, reaching medical appointments, and traveling across the Westside,” wrote Supervisor Alan Wong in a paid proponent argument.
Strong support comes from the Chinese American Democratic Club and the Richmond District Democratic Club. Josephine Zhao, president of the Chinese American Democratic Club, highlighted the inconveniences faced by Chinese American residents who have built strong communities on the Westside. “We should return to a solution that recognizes the needs of Chinese American families and the broader communities we live, work, and build relationships with every day,” she wrote.
Supporters of Proposition G raised just $42,596 as of Sept. 14, according to the San Francisco Ethics Commission. This pales in comparison to the $1,073,873 raised by opponents and supported by wealthy San Franciscans and tech entrepreneurs.
Opponents: park serves thousands
Major San Francisco politicians have come out against Proposition G over environmental concerns, high costs and fear that the measure will destroy Sunset Dunes Park.
“You rip out the playground, rip out the skate park, the bike park, seating, art — all of that has to go so that you can use the coast as a roadway — and then on Saturdays and Sundays, you close the road to cars and you let people walk on it. That is not a park,” Lucas Lux, president of the volunteer group Friends of Sunset Dunes, told the Public Press. The official opposition letter, signed by Senator Scott Wiener and Supervisors Matt Dorsey, Bilal Mahmood, Rafael Mandelman, Myrna Melgar and Danny Sauter, noted that Sunset Dunes Park sees nearly 60% of its visits on weekdays.
Environmental groups, Sunset neighborhood community organizations, local business owners and a coalition of Asian American voters also wrote letters opposing Proposition G. Environmental advocates, including The Sierra Club, say that keeping the park car-free has led to sand dune restoration and an increasing population of the threatened western snowy plover. Local businesses also reap benefits from the park, with some citing sales increases of 20% to 40% on weekdays since the Upper Great Highway became a full-time park.
Wealthy San Franciscans have backed the No on G campaign’s $1 million fundraising effort. Jeremy Stoppelman, CEO of Yelp, is the “no” campaign’s largest contributor, donating $375,000 to the effort.
Climate change threatens the roadway
The southernmost part of the Great Highway is closed due to severe erosion, and opponents say the Upper Great Highway will meet the same fate — especially if it is reopened as a roadway.
As sea levels rise, dunes along the coast in San Francisco’s Sunset District are the neighborhood’s best protection from climate disasters, according to Lux: “You get storm surges and rising sea levels coming into the neighborhood. Restoring the dunes is the top way to protect the neighborhood against sea level rise,” he said.
After the passage of Proposition K in 2024, the California State Coastal Conservancy gave money to restore the eroding sand dunes on San Francisco’s Pacific Coast. Friends of Sunset Dunes also received private grant money to sponsor dune restoration. Lux said that this money could disappear if the Upper Great Highway is opened as a roadway, because grantors won’t want to provide funding if the area isn’t a park.
What it would cost
The cost of reopening the Upper Great Highway to cars is significant. The city controller’s office estimates the upfront cost of reopening the roadway to be $9.8 million, with annual maintenance costs of between $500,000 and $1.9 million. Ordinances like Proposition G cannot require subsequent government leaders to provide funding toward its efforts, so the exact cost to the government would be dependent on future elected officials’ decision-making.
