Proposition K asks voters if Upper Great Highway should be made into a dedicated pedestrian thoroughfare and recreation area adjacent to Ocean Beach. Vehicle traffic would be rerouted onto Lower Great Highway, which runs parallel to the east of the coastal road.
Traffic on Upper Great Highway was closed during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown of the city starting in March 2020. In May 2022, a pilot program was created that continued to restrict vehicles on Friday afternoons, weekends and holidays.
The pilot program expires at the end of 2025, but supporters of the closure advocated making it permanent and expanding it to seven days a week. Emergency vehicles, government vehicles and Recreation and Park Department shuttles will be exempt.
Opponents have railed against the highway's closure, arguing it would create traffic headaches for commuters and the surrounding neighborhood.
Matt Boschetto, a candidate for a Board of Supervisors seat in District 7, which is on the west side of the city but does not include the Great Highway, started a political action committee to oppose the measure. It had raised about $105,000 as of Wednesday. The campaign calls for keeping the weekend and holiday restrictions currently in place.
A competing committee in favor of Prop K had raised about $600,000 as of Wednesday.
The ballot opposition argument written by former mayoral candidate Richie Greenberg urged voters to reject the measure because of its impact on residents and commuters in the area.
