Out with the cars, in with the park.
That’s now the official stance of the San Francisco Democratic Party.
After more than an hour of cheering, booing, finger-pointing, and teeth-gnashing, an exhausted San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee voted Wednesday night to back a ballot measure that would pave the way for a new park on the Great Highway.
“Such sellouts!” Josephine Zhao, president of the Chinese American Democratic Club, told her members just after the vote.
It might just be the most contentious proposition on San Francisco’s ballot — at least, for residents of the west side. Some opposed to the Great Highway Park have grown so enraged they’ve toyed with the idea of recalling Supervisor Joel Engardio, who represents the Sunset and helped put the measure on the ballot.
Despite its radioactivity, high-profile Democrats like Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi have backed the measure. Ultimately, 15 out of 28 voting members of the Democratic Party board voted affirmatively to endorse Proposition K. Richmond District Supervisor Connie Chan and her electoral opponent Marjan Philhour both voted against the measure.
The SF DCCC — the governing board of the local Democratic party — is a key endorsement for the Great Highway Park ballot measure, which will appear on political flyers in mailboxes across the city alongside the ever-popular Vice President Kamala Harris, who will boost Democratic turnout. Brat summer may lead to sunny Great Highway Park summers.
Audrey Liu, an Inner Richmond resident, told the board in public comment that she supported Prop. K. She spoke amid boos from the crowd.
“I believe now is the time to pass this measure,” Liu said. “The Great Highway is our next opportunity to create an iconic public space, just as San Franciscans did before when they created Embarcadero, Crissy Field, and Patricia’s Green. Every time it’s been a difficult decision, but every time San Franciscans have agreed to do what’s hard.”
The proposal was placed on the ballot by five members of the Board of Supervisors and Mayor London Breed. If passed, Prop. K will close the southern portion of the Great Highway, from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard, to cars, allowing city officials to create a park where the oft sand-drenched road once ran. The new park would be called Ocean Beach Park.
The stretch of highway is open only to pedestrians on weekends. Prop. K supporters argue that without a permanent closure, they can’t install infrastructure like benches and playgrounds.
Those arguments failed to sway some residents’ hearts Wednesday night. Opponents of the measure, mostly older Sunset and Richmond neighbors, packed the meeting in the Milton Marks Conference Center’s basement. They booed Prop. K supporters and filled the room with thunderous applause for anyone who demanded the Great Highway be left alone.
Early in the evening, roughly a dozen opponents of Prop. K stood shoulder-to-shoulder as Zhao, the Chinese American Democratic Club leader, addressed the Democratic Party board.
“If passed, it will throw 20,000 low-income people like these into chaos,” Zhao said, gesturing to the people by her side. “These people need to physically go to work: They’re cooks, they’re cleaners, they’re custodians. They spent decades building our city. Prop. K will break a promise of a pilot program that still has a year to go.”
Dozens of public speakers recounted oft-repeated arguments against Prop. K: that traffic diverted from the Great Highway would lead to longer north-south travel times, gum up neighborhood access, and lead to more collisions, and a park would be underused.
Supporters, meanwhile, told the Democratic Party that creating a new oceanside park is a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
Just how many people would use the park was up to interpretation during the night’s public comment period. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency found 4,000 people used the Great Highway Park each weekend day it was open.
SFMTA data shows the closure of the Great Highway adds three minutes of vehicular travel time at peak weekday hours. The agency would install new traffic signals in the area to address snarls.
Creating a new oceanside park is a once-in-a-generation opportunity, supporters told the Democratic Party.
The Great Highway park vote was one ballot measure battle among many Wednesday night.
The Democratic Party board also voted to back two controversial measures that Breed had opposed. They backed Prop. D, a measure aimed at winnowing city commissions and expanding mayoral power, and the board endorsed Prop. H, a measure that would lower the age when firefighters could collect their highest pension from 58 to 55.
The party also endorsed Prop. L, which would tax ride-hail vehicles like Uber to prevent Muni service cuts.