Californians have voted to shut a part of a virtually century-old freeway in San Francisco to automobiles, remodeling a two-mile part right into a park for pedestrians and cyclists.
On election day, metropolis residents voted to approve Proposition Okay, extending the ban on automobiles on a portion of the Higher Nice Freeway alongside the shoreline. The measure has sparked intense debate over whether or not automobiles ought to have common entry to the world.
Opponents argue that shutting down the freeway will improve site visitors congestion and impose excessive prices on the town, whereas supporters consider the closure will assist mitigate coastal erosion and create a protected pedestrian house for the neighborhood.
The roots of the Prop Okay debate hint again to the Covid-19 pandemic, when the town’s board of supervisors closed the Higher Nice Freeway to automobiles, permitting residents to stroll and bike there whereas social distancing to scale back virus transmission.
The choice’s reputation led to a pilot program in 2022 that closed the street to automobiles on weekends however allowed weekday entry.
The pilot concludes on the finish of 2025. With the measure’s approval, the town can now start the method of completely closing the part after the pilot ends.
As of Monday afternoon, the vote stood at greater than 54% in favor of Prop Okay, based on San Francisco’s division of elections. The measure wants 50% or extra to be authorised.
Critics argued that redirecting site visitors from the Higher Nice Freeway to inland routes might add as much as three minutes to commutes for drivers and create security dangers for pedestrians at intersections. “Many people on the west aspect really feel unheard and missed,” stated Vin Budhai, founding father of the Open the Nice Freeway/No on Okay Marketing campaign. “Households, seniors and staff who depend on this street will now must spend extra time in site visitors.”
Jared Lozano, a resident, instructed CBS Information Bay Space: “I’ve already had a buddy who’s been T-boned at [a nearby] intersection,” including: “I used to be nearly run over at that intersection immediately. That is simply going to create so many security issues for the town.”
Whereas the town has put in pace bumps in some areas to scale back rushing, opponents contend that the present weekend-only closure was already a good compromise for weekday commuters and leisure customers.
Supporters of the park conversion say it is going to allow public companies to revive dunes and coastal habitats, strengthening them to face up to rising sea ranges. In addition they argue that limiting automobile entry will scale back greenhouse fuel emissions and air pollution on this delicate coastal ecosystem, making the coast safer and extra accessible for folks utilizing wheelchairs, curler skates and bikes.
Supporters additionally level to the excessive prices of sustaining the freeway, which is closed as much as 65 days per yr – 18% of the time – resulting from sand accumulation.
Maintaining the freeway accessible to automobiles prices the town between $350,000 and $700,000 yearly for sand removing, with a further $1.5m in one-time capital prices, based on the San Francisco controller’s workplace. Proponents argue that changing the stretch to a park might save these funds for different makes use of.
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Prop Okay obtained notable endorsements from former Home speaker Nancy Pelosi, the state senator Scott Wiener, and the incumbent San Francisco mayor, London Breed. Organizations and teams together with the San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco Parks Alliance, and Sierra Membership additionally prolonged their assist.
Opponents included Aaron Peskin, president of the board of supervisors; Daniel Lurie, the town’s newly elected mayor and Mark Farrell, former interim mayor.
The town supervisor, Joel Engardio, who supported the measure, expressed on Sunday his dedication to listening to residents who voted in opposition to Prop Okay.
“I perceive and respect the views of voters who stated no to Prop Okay,” he stated in a press release. “I’ll work with residents to make sure that they’ve a voice in selections about how you can hold site visitors transferring rapidly whereas minimizing the impacts on neighborhood streets.”
