this post was submitted on 16 Sep 2025
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A car-free stretch of highway in San Francisco leads to recall vote and warning to politicians (apnews.com)
submitted 1 day ago by ray@sh.itjust.works to c/fuckcars@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/36015848

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — During the coronavirus pandemic, the city closed a stretch of a four-lane highway along San Francisco’s Pacific Coast and made it an automobile-free sanctuary where bicyclists and walkers flocked to exercise and socialize under open skies and to the sound of crashing waves.

But with the post-pandemic return to school and work, resentment grew among neighborhood residents who relied on the artery to get around. Some blamed the district city supervisor who helped make the change permanent by placing on a citywide ballot a measure to turn the 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch into a new park.

On Tuesday, district voters will decide whether to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio.

The recall of a local supervisor who represents one-tenth of a city of 800,000 might seem like minor politics. But the election highlights a San Francisco in flux and a still cranky, even emboldened electorate as leaders prepare to make tough decisions about the city’s future.

The recall election will be the city’s third in four years. It’s fueled by many of the same people who tossed out three liberal school board members in February 2022 followed by the ouster of politically progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin in June of that year.

“This recall is really about the future of our city,” said Engardio in an interview with The Associated Press. “Do we want to be a city that just preserves itself in amber and goes back in time? Or do we want to be a city that innovates, thinks ahead, is forward-looking and welcomes new people?”

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[–] fubarx@lemmy.world 5 points 2 hours ago

The effect of the highway closure was studied by SFMTA: https://www.sfmta.com/blog/new-data-great-highway-road-closure-how-were-supporting-your-trips

Some roadways are busier and more congested. Chain of Lakes Drive has about 2,000 more vehicles per day than pre-closure. Lower Great Highway has about 700 more vehicles per day – that means about one additional vehicle per minute at peak hour –compared with pre-pandemic traffic.

At the same time, traffic on the Upper Great Highway between Fulton and Lincoln has dropped by 30%. Together, these two major park crossings – Chain of Lakes Drive and the Upper Great Highway – now carry about 3,200 fewer weekday car trips than before the closure. This suggests that while some traffic has shifted to nearby streets, other trips may have moved to different routes, different types of transportation, or aren’t happening anymore.

Other roadways remain below pre-pandemic traffic. Sunset Boulevard remains at 90% of pre-pandemic traffic volumes. Lincoln Way east of Chain of Lake was not impacted by the closure of the Upper Great Highway and remains 7% below pre-pandemic traffic volumes.

While some traffic has shifted to avenues, all the avenues where we collected data had typical traffic volumes for neighborhood streets.

That park is a great asset to the neighborhood. It started because roads were closed during the pandemic and people really liked having a place to take the kids, get to the beach, and not have to worry about cars. Traffic data shows closure impact is minimal. But some people are still raging that they have to drive a few blocks out of their way.