Wealthy San Franciscans enraged after two-mile stretch of coastal road was turned into park, turning nearby streets into ‘major traffic arteries’

DAILYMAIL.COM • 1h ago

By ALYSSA GUZMAN, US NEWS REPORTER 16:31 13 Oct 2026, updated 16:40 13 Oct 2026

Wealthy San Francisco residents have been left outraged after a beautiful two-mile stretch of a coastal highway was converted into a car-free park, leaving their neighborhoods full of unwanted traffic.

The two-mile portion of the Upper Great Highway has been closed to cars since April 2025, after voters passed a resolution to convert it into public recreation space.

The cars have been replaced with skateboarders and families, who happily enjoy looking out at the Pacific Ocean as they soak in the sun and the sound of waves crashing.

But for residents living just blocks away, the seemingly idyllic backdrop has become a form of torture.

‘I’m so angry about it,’ Judi Gorski, 75, told The Wall Street Journal. ‘My street has become a major artery.’

It is estimated that 20,000 vehicles have been forced into nearby streets, including Gorski’s, after Sunset Dunes Park became a permanent fixture.

Joanie Landon, who also lives in the area, told the outlet it takes her triple the time to get to her arthritis therapy.

‘It’s very stressful when you get to this age,’ the 85-year-old said, whose once eight-minute drives now take at least 25 minutes.

The increased drive has caused her to cut her therapy sessions to three days a week instead of five, she said.

The controversy around the road closure will be put to voters next month with a new measure called Proposition G. If passed, it will restore vehicles to the road on weekdays.

‘Yes on G’ backers gathered some 16,000 signatures to get the motion on the ballot, and also fundraised around $130,000 for the campaign, WSJ reports. Meanwhile, those who want to keep the park as is, including Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman, have raised about $800,000, with half coming from the entrepreneur himself.

‘There is no reason to demolish a park that families across San Francisco love,’ Stoppelman told WSJ.

Initially a pandemic pilot program, the project banned cars on weekends starting at noon Fridays.

The city called it the largest pedestrianization project in California’s history, the WSJ reports. It welcomed more than 1.7 million visits in the first year it was open, with an average of nearly 5,000 daily visits, data from San Francisco Recreation and Park Department shows.

More than 50 percent of visits occur during weekdays, suggesting it is used regularly by locals.

Although plenty still enjoy the park, nearby residents told WSJ that there wasn’t enough outreach to those in neighborhoods that relied on the Upper Great Highway before the initial ballot.

‘At the end of the day, I prioritize those that need to commute to work or school on weekdays over weekday recreational needs for the road,’ Supervisor Alan Wong, who supports restricting the park, told NBC Bay Area.

However, those who want to keep the park are saying it would destroy it to open it back up to traffic, as the park would have to get rid of skate ramps and children’s playgrounds.

Sunset is home to roughly 116,000 people with an average household income of $158,000, according to Census data.

The Daily Mail has reached out to Gorski, Landon, Stoppelman and San Francisco Recreation & Parks for comment.

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