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The Great Highway Park is five miles from 16th and Valencia Streets, in the heart of the Mission District. But distance didn't stop advocates for Prop. K, which would turn the land currently occupied by the Upper Great Highway into a permanent park, from advocating at San Francisco's "Sunday Streets" on Valencia.
"We're excited to share with all people about how much we want the oceanfront to be available to everyone," said Lucas Lux, an organizer for the "Yes on K Ocean Beach Park" campaign. Drew McDaniel, also manning the campaign's tent, lives even farther away from the beach. "I fell in love with the beach during the pandemic," he told Streetsblog, when asked why he was volunteering his time. "I live in the Tenderloin, but it's easy to get there on Muni's N-Judah."
The "Yes on K" campaign was just one advocacy group taking advantage of Sunday's event to reach people. Jon Spangler, chair of the BART Bicycle Advisory Task Force, was there talking about recent accomplishments and ongoing challenges in making BART more friendly for cyclists. He talked about a recently added wheeling ramp for bikes on the stairs at 19th Street BART and the fact that bicycles are now permitted on BART escalators. However, the system's elevators are still small, painfully slow, dark, and uninviting. "The elevators we have now were built before the Americans with Disabilities Act," he explained. "It's going to take big money, but we need full-sized elevators."
Thea Selby, co-vice chair of the San Francisco Transit Riders, was there to garner support for Prop. L, the ComMUNIty Transit Act, which would add a new gross receipts tax on ride-hail platforms such as Uber, Lyft, and Waymo to fund Muni. "We need more buses, more frequency, more everything!"
SFMTA had a booth too. And, of course, being on Valencia, the topic of the future of the street's contentious center-running bike lane was sure to come up. Representatives for the agency (they asked Streetsblog not to use their names) said that the project to remove the center-running lane will start on January 2. That's because restaurants don't want construction during the summer, when the street is most popular, and retail merchants don't want any disruptions until after the holiday shopping season.
Kyle Charlton of Monroe Motors, which sells motorcycles, also had a booth. He told Streetsblog that he dislikes the center-running bike lane and that he regularly sees motorists driving on it. Almost on cue, a driver ignored the temporary street-closure signs and drove past (picture below) with event organizers chasing him down trying to stop him.
Several mayoral candidates also took advantage of the event to canvass. Representatives for Mayor London Breed, District 11 Supervisor Ahsha Safai, and Daniel Lurie were there to shake hands and solicit support.
Candidate and District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin was there with an entourage, walking down the street. Streetsblog asked his views on the center-running lane. "I have never ridden on it. I've heard good and bad about it," he said. "It's an experiment. We should never be afraid of experimenting."
But Peskin said his primary reason for coming was to listen to a musical performance. And of course politics and advocacy were just a couple of things made possible by keeping cars off the street for one afternoon.
"Sunday Streets is a perfect example of how we can reimagine our streets as open spaces for people to come together, have fun, and live healthier lives," said San Francisco Rec and Parks General Manager Phil Ginsburg, in a prepared statement. "We're proud to support this event that celebrates the joy of being outside along with our city’s rich cultural heritage.”
Two more random pictures below:
