An SF debate that’s been raging since early in the pandemic has just been settled at the ballot box, as a two-mile stretch of the Great Highway will indeed go car-free, because the measure Prop K now has enough votes to pass.  

The morning after the November 5 election, the Prop K measure to make part of the Great Highway car-free was ahead by a 53%-47% margin. Five days and 130,000 more votes counted later, that margin has increased to 54%-46%, with only about 42,000 more votes left to count. There are simply not enough votes left to swing this the other way, so the Chronicle called the race Saturday night that the Prop K car-free Great Highway measure has passed.

And on top of that, today being the federal holiday of Veterans Day, the Great Highway is car-free today, as part of the current car-free on the weekends schedule for that thoroughfare.

“San Francisco voters resoundingly declared that they want an oceanfront park open to all,” the Yes on K Campaign said in a Saturday night statement. “Transformational changes like the removal of the Embarcadero and Central freeways, and the creation of Crissy Field, came with passionate debate — and produced some of our City’s most iconic and beloved spaces. Ocean Beach Park will soon join that list.”

Passionate debate, indeed. As seen above, the neighborhoods directly adjacent to the Great Highway, and the most of the western and southern precincts in town, voted against Prop K. Pretty much the whole eastern and northern sides of town voted for Prop K, in a stark geographic split rarely seen in SF election results.

And the many Sunset residents who opposed Prop K are furious with their district's supervisor Joel Engardio, who co-sponsored the measure, with some even talking recall.

"Prop K may have passed, but for us on the Sunset’s west side, it feels like our voices were ignored,” No on Prop K campaign manager Vin Budhai said in a statement to KTVU. “The Great Highway is more than just a road — it’s a lifeline for our families, our kids, and our daily routines."

The two-mile stretch of the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard went car-free during the pandemic, a profoundly controversial move for residents of the Sunset District. There was an eventual compromise deal to make that stretch car-free on weekends only in August 2021. That’s considered a “pilot program” that ends on December 21, 2025.

But there’s no official timeline on when this new “park” will break ground, or open. The above images are just unofficial renderings, nothing concrete has been proposed, and that’s all going to be a long process with SF City Hall and the California Coastal Commission. Either way, though, half of that two-mile stretch was already going to be closed to cars anyway in 2026 because of coastal erosion.

Related: Early Results Have Car-Free Great Highway Ahead, Prop D Commission Reform Losing [SFist]

Image: @GreatHwyPark via Twitter