San Francisco — On a recent Sunday, hundreds of people enjoyed the iconic coastal road known as the Great Highway on the edge of Outer Sunset, a cozy seaside neighborhood lined with pastel-colored bungalows.

A father taught his child how to ride a bicycle. A young couple was walking with their baby in a basket. Two surfers were pulling their boards against the crashing waves of the Pacific Ocean.

The next day, the same stretch of asphalt was covered with cars, returning to the commuter route for thousands of drivers who use the Great Highway to get to work, the airport, school or other parts of town.

This two-mile stretch, known as the Upper Great Highway, begins at the tip of Golden Gate Park and runs south along Ocean Beach, but locals are at odds over how best to use the historic thoroughfare. have clashed, creating a political traffic jam in recent years. Coastal erosion and sea level rise threaten its future.

The controversy was renewed in last month’s election when a majority of San Francisco voters approved a controversial ballot measure that would permanently close the Upper Great Highway to vehicle traffic and turn it into a full-time park rather than a weekend-only walking trail. reached a fever pitch. The measures are Proposition Kpassed with nearly 55% of the vote.

Most of the support came from voters on the city’s east side, near downtown and several miles from the beach. Voters in the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods, the West Side neighborhoods most affected by the shutdown, overwhelmingly voted against the measure.

of rough division This has spurred an ongoing debate, much like the one in San Francisco, between so-called urbanists who want to develop more green space and promote public transportation in their cities, and those who rely on cars and worry about traffic. I put it on. It has also caused tensions between the neighborhood’s traditional residents, who cling to their middle-class roots, and other city dwellers who embrace the coast as an urban oasis.

The fight could cost local politicians their jobs.

Immediately after Proposition K passed, opponents organized a recall petition against coach Joel Engardio. Joel Engardio is a Democrat elected to represent the Sunset District and other West Side neighborhoods in 2022 and helped vote for Proposition K.

San Francisco Supervisor Joel Engardio, a Democrat elected to represent Outer Sunset and other West Side districts in 2022, is facing recall for supporting Proposition K.

(Jeff Chiu/Associated Press)

Recall organizers argue that Mr. Engardio has abandoned the region he represents by supporting an initiative that voters clearly do not want.

“This recall is based on the fact that he simply betrayed the district,” said Outer Sunset resident Bin Buday, who opposed Proposition K and filed the recall petition.

Buday said residents are concerned that closing the highway will bring traffic into their neighborhoods, pollute the air and make quiet streets unsafe. He’s concerned about workers who can’t afford to work from home or who don’t have the option of biking or taking public transportation to work.

“There’s a conversation going on about how we should use our roads, but that conversation doesn’t include drivers,” he says.

Recall petitioners are waiting for permission to collect signatures to qualify to vote in a special election by 2026. If successful, Mr. Engardio would become the latest in a string of local politicians to be removed from office over the past three years. In 2022, San Francisco voters recalled a progressive district. Atty. Chesa Boudin and three school board members over voter dissatisfaction during the pandemic. In November, East Bay voters ousted Oakland Mayor Shen Tao and two other progressives in Alameda Township. Atty. Pamela Price.

Engardio said he was “humbled” by the votes against Prop. K in his district, calling for traffic and road safety improvements before the Upper Great Highway is closed to vehicular traffic, likely by next spring. He said he is committed to working with the opposition to address the above concerns.

But he also sees a unique opportunity to rethink historic highways in the face of climate change. Already, construction is underway on the southern extension of the Great Highway near the San Francisco Zoo. Scheduled to close for Erosion and other environmental problems. City officials estimate that closing the Upper Great Highway to vehicles and rerouting traffic through other eastern roads would only add three minutes to driving time.

“Do we leave it as a road with little utility? Or do we turn it into a waterfront park that will benefit generations of people, the local economy, and be good for the environment?” Engardio said. Ta. “This has the potential to be transformative, not just for Sunset, but for all of San Francisco.”

The drama surrounding the Upper Great Highway dates back to the pandemic, when city officials closed it to car traffic as part of a broader effort to free up outdoor recreation space. In 2021, the city amended those rules to allow traffic on weekdays and set aside streets for pedestrians on weekends. The highway will be turned into a park from noon Friday to 6 a.m. Monday.

In the November 2022 election, advocates frustrated with the no-car rule organized a ballot measure to reopen the highway to car traffic full-time. Voters rejected the measure, Proposition I, by more than 65% of the vote.

As a compromise after that election, the Board of Supervisors approved a three-year pilot program to maintain split use of the road. In June, Engardio and four other supervisors sponsored an ordinance that would put Proposition K before voters rather than let the 11-member board decide the highway’s fate.

“The coast belongs to everyone, so we felt it would be better for everyone to have an equal vote and an equal say in what happens to the coast,” Engardio said.

Engardio said he is confident his district wants a park. Many Westside voters rejected a 2022 measure that would have fully reopened the road to motorized traffic, and a coalition of Outer Sunset residents campaigned for a weekend promenade and Proposition K.

“This idea came from Sunset residents, and I’m a Sunset supervisor,” he said.

City authorities recorded the above records. 420,000 visitors on weekends It will be added to the park in 2023, making it the city’s third most visited park after Golden Gate Park and Marina. In another study by the city, 26,400 visitors weekly A pedestrian-only promenade will be maintained at all times. The San Francisco Controller’s Office also estimates that closing the highway to vehicular traffic could save the city up to $700,000 a year on debris removal and other maintenance issues that regularly close the freeway. I am doing it.

Supporters of Prop. K see it as a unique opportunity to transform the road into a park accessible to all, with paved sections for seniors and people with disabilities, and lush with native plants and restored sand dunes. We celebrated the approval. And they are adamant that local businesses and restaurants will benefit from increased foot traffic.

“The rising temperature in recent months on this issue has really overlooked an incredibly positive opportunity for San Franciscans,” said Outer Sunset resident and Yes on K campaign manager Lucas Lux. “I lost it,” he said. “You’ve opened up the coast to more people who can enjoy it as part of everyday life in San Francisco.”

Lux and other supporters of the new park hope it will eventually become as popular as the park itself. JFK Promenade Inside Golden Gate Park. Voters in 2022 approved another measure permanently banning it to cars, and it has since become a popular recreational road, now decorated with art installations, a ping pong table, a piano, and lawn chairs.

But bitter feelings still smolder in the West.

Joggers and cyclists walk along the car-free John F. Kennedy Drive in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

(Eric Risberg/Associated Press)

Matt Boschette, who ran unsuccessfully for supervisor representing the nearby Inner Sunset district, said he sees the closure of the Upper Great Highway as San Francisco abandoning working-class people. .

“I’m not trying to silence the voices of urbanists, people who want more open space, people who are concerned about the climate and have big concerns about housing,” he said. “But we also have to respect other views of San Francisco.”

Boschette ran a campaign committee opposing Proposition K that raised about $239,000 and at least $65,000 from Boschette’s family. By comparison, the committee supporting Proposition K raised more than $780,000, including $350,000 from Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman.

“We did the best we could,” Bochet said. “I think maybe history is not on our side, but I think it was a moral victory in many ways. I think it really mobilized the West.”

The California Coastal Commission voted this month to: grant san francisco permit Turn the road into a park. Opponents were disappointed, but said they hoped Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie, who took office in early January and opposes Prop. K, would delay implementation of the closures.

Lurie said in a statement that he is “committed to respecting and supporting the will of voters,” and that his administration will “work with residents on both sides to ensure that our policies are thoughtfully implemented.”

As for Engardio, he also said he is committed to spending the coming months working with outraged constituents to address road safety and traffic concerns. He said he respects the “democratic right” to organize a recall against him, but that he has not addressed other issues important to the district during his tenure, including public safety and hosting a popular night market to support local businesses. He said he hopes voters will consider how he has approached the issue. .

“At the moment I only need to look forward,” he said. “You can’t undo the past.”