Ripping Out Sunset Dunes Would cost $10 Million

Prop. G will appear on the ballot this November, marking the third time San Francisco voters will be asked to decide on whether the two-mile, 50-acre Sunset Dunes Park should be for cars or people. And this time it comes with a price tag: if Sunset Dunes Park is turned back into a highway, it’ll cost the taxpayers $10 million.

The Office of the Controller released an analysis Monday that found that ripping out all the park amenities and redoing the signals to put cars back on it would cost taxpayers $9.8 million in one-time capital costs. After that, it will cost between $500,000 and $1.9 million every year to maintain it for cars.

“Proposition G will charge San Franciscans millions of dollars to close a beloved park,” said Lucas Lux, Campaign Manager, No on G: Save Sunset Dunes Park. “This expensive ballot measure would waste taxpayer money to replace a thriving park with a failed road, a section of which has closed anyway due to coastal erosion.”

In addition, Proposition G would also require a coastal development permit, which would likely trigger further studies or permit conditions, according to the report. Installing signals at Sloat Boulevard would also force changes to the Ocean Beach Climate Change Adaptation Project, potentially requiring a costly redesign of the planned public plaza there.

Note again Prop. G will mark the third time voters have chimed in on Sunset Dunes. The last time, with 2024’s Prop. K, 55 percent of voters supported a permanent park. 45 percent were opposed. There’s no reason to think, now with the park’s popularity, there’s going to be a sudden reversal. Multiple traffic studies have also shown that there’s been no appreciable impact on congestion.

Advocates fighting for the park, however, aren’t taking any chances and have started their campaign. Check out their first video below:

To get involved, check out savesunsetdunes.org