Vote “No” on “G” to Preserve Sunset Dunes… for the Third Time
Want to defend Sunset Dunes? Click here and see details about how you can get involved at the end of this post.
The mainstream press is all over Prop. G and the “arguments” for destroying Sunset Dunes park and turning it back into a beachfront freeway called “Great Highway.”
In truth, there’s nothing to argue that hasn’t already been resolved.
The people of San Francisco have voted twice on this. In a democracy, there are winners and losers. 55 percent of the voters decided they wanted a permanent park just two years ago. Nothing has changed except that we got a great new recreational space on the oceanfront of San Francisco; the carmageddon the opponents of the park said would happen as a result just didn’t. The park now exists and is wildly popular.
A subset of the people who lost this vote, twice, couldn’t even manage to get a majority of the Board of Supervisors to put it back on the ballot. For crying out loud, they couldn’t even convince Supervisor Shamann Walton to approve a third citywide vote. Yes, the opponents of the park ultimately managed to get over the 10,500 required signatures necessary to get this on the ballot a third time.
Meanwhile, in 2024, 170,447 people, or 45 percent, voted against the park and to keep cars on the “Great Highway.” So six percent of the minority of voters who were opposed is all it takes to get a third referendum on the ballot this November? That doesn’t say anything about Sunset Dunes vs. Great Highway. It just says our signature thresholds are too low if the losing side can so easily force a re-vote on a settled issue.
Of course, advocates for safe and livable streets still have to get out there and keep the record straight. So no, it’s not a “compromise” to allow traffic onto Sunset Dunes during the week while it would somehow remain a park on the weekends, as the “Yes on G” campaign frames it. It actually means jackhammering many of the installations, including the skate park, and spending millions over the years sweeping away sand. And for what: so drivers get to dominate 46 north-south roads in the Sunset District, including Sunset Boulevard, instead of 45? And let’s not forget that in 2022, when this was first put before voters with Prop. I, they wanted cars on the “Great Highway” seven days a week.
Advocates, really, just have to make sure San Francisco voters aren’t so fatigued with all this that they leave the choice blank, or fail to vote at all.
To get involved, reach out to Eliza, Field Director for the “No on G, Save Sunset Dunes Park” campaign at info@savesunsetdunes.org
Here’s some more info from Eliza:
Subscribe to our Luma calendar to see upcoming opportunities.
Finally, if you haven’t already, join our volunteer Slack channel and say hi! Introduce yourself, tell us what neighborhood you’re in, and get to know the other lovely humans you’ll be campaigning alongside.
One hopes, come November, G will fail (again) and even the most fanatical San Francisco car brains will find a way to move on with their lives. Maybe these curmudgeons can even learn to love the park.
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