For the third time in four years, San Francisco voters are being asked what the Upper Great Highway should be. Proposition G on the Nov. 3 ballot would bring private cars back to the two-mile oceanfront stretch between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard on weekdays, which would mean closing Sunset Dunes Park to walkers, cyclists and other recreation during those hours.

What Prop G would do

The measure is an ordinance placed on the ballot by signature petition; proponent Richard Corriea's campaign qualified it in July. Under its terms, the road would open to private vehicles every week from 4 a.m. Monday until 6 p.m. Friday, except when a holiday falls on a weekday. From 6 p.m. Friday to 4 a.m. Monday, and on those holidays, the road would stay car-free. A supermajority of eight supervisors could adjust minor administrative details, but changing the days or hours cars are allowed, or any other major change, would go back to voters, according to the League of Women Voters of San Francisco's nonpartisan guide.

How we got here

The city shut the road to private vehicles in 2020 during the pandemic. In 2022, voters rejected a Prop. I that would have reopened it full time. In November 2024, voters approved Prop. K, which closed the road to cars permanently and turned it into Sunset Dunes, which opened in April 2025. The Recreation and Park Department counted more than 1.7 million visits in the park's first year, 53% of them on weekdays, the League's guide notes. A ship-shaped playground called Shipwreck Cove, paid for with $800,000 in private donations raised by Friends of Sunset Dunes, opened last month as a one-year pilot, The San Francisco Standard reported.

What it would cost

The city controller estimates reopening would cost about $9.8 million upfront, mostly for new traffic signals, plus $500,000 to $1.9 million a year to operate, according to the Standard. Opponents put the figure at $10 million to $14 million, then $1.9 million a year.

What your vote means

  • Yes: Cars return to the Upper Great Highway on weekdays, and the park closes to the public during those hours.
  • No: Sunset Dunes stays a car-free park all week, as Prop. K set up in 2024.

Who is for and against it

Supporters include the Chinese American Democratic Club, the San Francisco Taxpayers Association and the Richmond District Democratic Club. They argue traffic injuries in the Sunset have risen and that the closure forces slower, less direct trips and more emissions, and they say Prop G restores the compromise of weekday driving and car-free weekends that was in place before 2024.

State Sen. Scott Wiener wrote the official argument against. Opponents also include the Sierra Club, Outer Sunset Neighbors, the Sunset Merchants Association, SPUR, Surfrider SF and the Golden Gate Bird Alliance. They say crashes are down since the closure, traffic on most routes is unaffected and local business revenue is up. No on G campaign manager Lucas Lux told the Standard that reopening the road would mean removing the park's seating and playground.

The money gap

The fundraising is lopsided. As of the latest San Francisco Ethics Commission filings, the No on G committee sponsored by Friends of Sunset Dunes had raised about $1.6 million and spent about $860,000. The Yes on G committee, Great Highway for Everyone, had raised about $133,000 and spent about $58,500.

The last day to register to vote is Oct. 19, and Election Day is Nov. 3.