Standing on the sidewalk in front of his fire-damaged hardware store, Albert Chow wore the hardened scowl of a man who’s had enough.
His store in the Sunset was burned down in August, then looted. But dozens of people who rallied outside it Wednesday morning were not there to mourn the loss of a neighborhood staple or demand a greater police presence to deter the wave of arson and burglary in the district.
Instead, they were gathering to oppose Proposition K, a ballot measure that would close a two-mile stretch of the Upper Great Highway, a coastal drive facing sand erosion, to create a permanent, car-free recreation zone. It was the seventh such rally since July.
“We are so united against this. This is a bad idea,” Chow said in front of news cameras. “I want you to trust us and vote no on K.”
In a city mocked for lawlessness and government dysfunction, this seemingly nonpartisan land-use issue has become one of the nastiest political fights in this election season.
In an indication of how high tensions are running, rumors circulated that the fire at Chow’s store was started as revenge for his vocal opposition to Prop. K. The rumors, stoked on social media and promoted by Chinese-language media, traveled far enough that the San Francisco Police Department last week issued a statement insisting that there is “no evidence” the arson was politically motivated.
Supervisor Joel Engardio, who introduced Prop. K, has faced recall threats in July from infuriated constituents. Last month, when an angry bicyclist crashed an anti-Prop. K event, he was captured on video accusing the measure’s critics of killing children and calling people “piece of shit.”
Indeed, the fight over Prop. K has become unusually vitriolic, sowing division along economic, racial, and generational lines.
Drivers vs. park
Upper Great Highway, between Ocean Beach and the Sunset, is part of the city’s famed scenic drive. The southern part of the road connecting to Daly City is set to fully close to cars in the near future because of erosion, and the northern part in the Richmond will remain open.
Prop. K would affect the middle portion of the highway, which is open to cars on weekdays only.
Chow, who drives to work, says that if the stretch of the Great Highway is shut down, tens of thousands of cars a day will be directed to the surrounding neighborhood, especially to already packed Sunset Boulevard and 19th Avenue. He believes the spillover traffic will make the neighborhood miserable and cause delays for residents who need to drive to get around.
“I was tied up for a good 15, 20 minutes on 19th Avenue today,” Chow said. “Why are you making cars the enemy?”
Chow, a merchant association leader, worries that a Great Highway closure would hurt Sunset businesses, because worsening traffic would discourage shoppers from other neighborhoods.
Stuart Fong, a Sunset resident, said he feels increasingly restricted while driving in the city because of policy decisions that, in his view, have sidelined those who rely on cars.
He said “Slow Streets,” the city’s initiative for a bike-lane network, as well as right-turn bans and the closure of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park, have worsened traffic. The Great Highway closure would cut off another key artery, he said.
“I don’t think the city is treating us properly,” Fong said. “We should be working together, not against one another.”
Supporters of Prop. K have rebranded the campaign to create an oceanfront park. Alyssa Cheung, a member of the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition who supports Prop. K and the oceanfront park it would create, denied that there’s growing animus toward motorists.
“The portrayal of cyclists setting a war on cars or hating cars is false and peddled by the opposition,” Cheung said. “I drive when I need to.”
Lucas Lux, the campaign manager supporting Prop. K, dismissed disgruntled motorists as “people who have gotten to use this public resource, our coast, in their preferred way of driving past our neighborhood for a long time,” suggesting they are not willing to share.
Meanwhile, those opposed to the measure have speculated that it is driven by real estate interests that aim to bring huge housing developments to the coast, transforming Ocean Beach into Miami Beach. Lux pushed back on the rumor, saying no state or local law would allow that.
Class, race, age
The “Yes on K” campaign has raised about $608,000 from donors who include Yelp founder Jeremy Stoppelman ($300,000) and former OpenAI interim CEO Emmett Shear ($75,000).
The “No on K” campaign has received about $106,000, and $65,000 is from the family of Matt Boschetto, who’s leading the No on Prop K campaign and a supervisor candidate.
Boschetto said Prop. K is pushed by wealthy techies who can work remotely, unlike working-class people who may need to drive to their jobs. Proponents want to push people out of their cars and onto bikes or public transit, modes that don’t work for everyone, Boschetto suggested.
“They all share a certain vision for San Francisco,” he said. “It’s one that directly cuts against working-class people, small-business owners, and seniors who need convenient accessibility.”
The Prop. K campaign disputes the narrative that it’s fueled by rich techies, providing a list of more than 180 donors, including many who gave less than $30.
Todd David, political director of Abundant SF, an advocacy group led by families in tech and a Prop. K campaign sponsor, said the Great Highway issue is not about tech interests but, rather, represents a generational divide with young people supporting it and older people against it.
Race may also play a role. The Chinese American Democratic Club and Supervisor Connie Chan are some of the most outspoken opponents of Prop K. Chan said in a recent debate that the closure will isolate Chinese American communities on the city’s west side.
Results from past elections suggest that many Asian Americans could oppose the road closure. In 2022, San Francisco voters overwhelmingly rejected Prop. I, a ballot measure that sought to fully reopen the Great Highway to vehicle access. According to election maps, precincts with higher percentages of Asian voters were more supportive of Prop. I. Majority-white precincts, meanwhile, tended to oppose the measure. Black and Latino voters showed no clear preference.
The Prop. K campaign said its polling data indicate no significant differences in support among various racial groups. Age was the most influential demographic factor, the campaign said.
Chow, along with other west-side residents and merchant leaders, in July threatened to recall Engardio and force him to withdraw the ballot measure. The supervisor didn’t back down, and Chow’s group decided to focus on defeating Prop. K and has said it may reconsider the recall effort after November.
Chow thinks the fate of the Great Highway should be decided by area residents, not in a citywide vote. Mayoral candidates’ positions on this issue are make or break for him.
“Any elected official who supports this measure is advocating for this type of process to put something on the ballot. They’re OK with being tone-deaf to their constituency,” Chow said.
Mayor London Breed supports Prop. K, while three of her top opponents — Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin, former interim Mayor Mark Farrell, and nonprofit executive Daniel Lurie — oppose it.
Cyn Wang, a Sunset resident and supporter of Prop. K, said the strong feelings about the Great Highway have taken her by surprise.
“I’ve had phone calls from community members who were very emotional, saying this was their No. 1 issue for this election,” Wang said. “It was very shocking to see this issue become such a wedge issue.”
In spite of the controversy, Engardio predicted that a future park at the site of the Great Highway will be a city favorite — and in five or 10 years, people won’t remember the knock-down, drag-out fights.
“Change is hard,” he said. “This issue is on the right side of history.”