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San Francisco Chronicle
24-05-2025
- Politics
- San Francisco Chronicle
People love the new Great Highway park. Do they love it enough to spare Supervisor Joel Engardio?
What controversy? Being able to take a snooze in a beachfront hammock on a sunny afternoon has made all the turmoil over closing the Upper Great Highway to create Sunset Dunes, San Francisco's newest park, worth it. At least it did for Fred Reynolds, who lives nearby, when I spoke to him on a recent Saturday. 'I thought it worked very well during COVID,' Reynolds said of the pandemic closure of the roadway. 'So, it seems like a natural progression. I think it's turning out to be a great asset for the city.' Now the question is if Reynolds' neighbors feel similarly enough about the park and its new amenities to extinguish their political furor. While San Francisco voted to pass Prop K in November, closing the Great Highway to cars, Sunset residents overwhelmingly opposed the measure — and responded to its passage by revolting against their supervisor, Joel Engardio, who championed the roadway's closure. The campaign to recall Engardio said it had enough petition signatures from District 4 residents by Thursday's deadline to submit to the San Francisco Elections Department for a ballot measure. If the signatures are certified, the department must hold a recall election 105 to 120 days afterward. There's also a lawsuit seeking to reopen the Great Highway and the possibility of a ballot measure to reverse Prop K. The recall campaign also opened another front in the city's moderate-progressive political war. Meanwhile, Sunset Dunes park, the source of all this acrimony, opened officially to great fanfare on April 12. Politics aside, it's still doing well. Sunset Dunes is still largely a four-lane road. There's new murals, paintings on the asphalt, sculptures and some added amenities, such as hammocks and tree trunks repurposed into seating. That's enough for Sunset Dunes to become the third most-visited park in the city during the week, averaging 3,400 visitors a day, and fourth overall on weekends, averaging 7,800 visitors a day, according to the Recreation and Park Department. 'I've been coming out on the weekends pretty much, but I want to start coming out at night every day just for exercise, too,' Sunset resident Osmond Li said after trying out a piano set up for visitors. So far, 62% of the visitors to Sunset Dunes are from San Francisco, and 35% of them are from the adjacent Sunset, Parkside and West Portal neighborhoods, according to the Recreation and Park Department's sensors that can track cell phone registrations. A 'honeymoon' surge to a new park is normal, but 'weekday consistency suggests lasting success. Our numbers there have been higher than expected,' said Tamara Barak Aparton, a spokesperson for the Recreation and Park Department. Is all that foot traffic translating into more sales for area businesses? It's probably too early for anything conclusive, but I checked with a couple of businesses I talked to just after the November election. Andytown Coffee Roasters co-owner Lauren Crabbe said her count of foot traffic at her Outer Sunset shops is up 20% over last year, compared to 5% at her Richmond District location. 'There's obviously something going on there beyond just the weather if we're seeing one neighborhood performing better than the other,' Crabbe said. At Aqua Surf Shop in the Sunset, store manager Dagan Ministero, who opposed Prop K, said he hasn't had an influx of customers since the park opened. 'I don't know if it's just the nation overall, but business is kind of down these days,' Ministero said. 'I haven't seen an increase.' Traffic congestion was one of the chief concerns for Ministero and many opposed to closing the Great Highway. Traffic is at or below pre-pandemic levels on the lower Great Highway adjacent to the park and nearby 46th Avenue, according to monitors set up by the group Friends of Sunset Dunes. However, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency is collecting more comprehensive data on the area's traffic conditions that it expects to release this summer, according to Parisa Safarzadeh, a spokesperson for the agency. 'We do anticipate that with every road change there is an adjustment period,' Safarzadeh said, noting that new traffic patterns and potential problems become clearer after drivers settle into routines. To help traffic flow, there are new stoplights at Lincoln Way and 41st Avenue, and at Sloat and Skyline boulevards. Sunset Boulevard, the closest major north-south route, has been repaved. Speed bumps were added to some streets near the Great Highway to discourage cut-through traffic. Safarzadeh said traffic data will be evaluated to determine if further changes are needed. 'It's too early to even understand what that would look like.' Drivers accustomed to using the closed 2-mile stretch of the Upper Great Highway from Lincoln Way to Sloat Boulevard will bear the brunt of these changes. Anecdotal evidence suggests commutes could be longer and not everybody is happy. Ministero said he's witnessed several fender benders in the area that he attributed to an uptick in traffic and that better infrastructure changes should have been in place before the closure. 'I feel like it was kind of putting the cart before the horse,' Ministero said. Despite his opposition to the Great Highway's closure, Ministero, who lives in the Richmond, said he loves the new public space and surfs the area almost daily, despite the 'problematic' traffic. Sunset voters who felt betrayed by Engardio now appear to have a chance at retribution by recalling him. Or can the new park win them over before Election Day? Either way, the park will remain. We can throw Engardio out and relitigate this at the polls and the courts. But to what end? Engardio has a vested interest in making sure Sunset Dunes is a success, so ousting him could jeopardize that. No doubt, commuters will be inconvenienced. I live in the Sunset, and I'll be one of them, too, when I drive. We should make sure the city upholds its responsibility to make traffic improvements. Because in the end, Sunset Dunes could become a great city asset, and that's what we should all want. Harry Mok is an assistant editor, editorial board member and columnist for the Opinion section.
San Francisco Chronicle
04-05-2025
- Climate
- San Francisco Chronicle
Tiny, beloved S.F. playground hit by 2023 landslide reopens after $1.2 million rebuild
A tiny playground tucked against a sheer rock cliff in the middle of San Francisco took an outsize hit on New Year's Day 2023 from a landslide triggered by an extreme winter storm — a disaster that turned out to be one of the city's most expensive that year. Nobody was hurt, but the avalanche of dirt, trees and boulders forced the closure of Peixotto Playground. Hidden at the end of a narrow driveway one block above Castro Street, the little play area with a clubhouse in Corona Heights Park is a treasured neighborhood spot — a 'jewel inside a rough box,' according to a column by the Chronicle's Carl Nolte. More than two years later, at a cost of $1.2 million to stabilize the hillside, the playground reopened this week with new sand, swings and a slide, and benches cut from the trunks of trees that fell. 'The landslide was top three in our most costly events of 2023,' said Eric Andersen, the city Recreation and Park Department's director of operations, ranking the slide with the flood at Stern Grove and the giant eucalyptus falling on the historic Trocadero Clubhouse during a very stormy winter of 2022-23. 'It required a fairly significant refurbishing of one of our older playgrounds.' Located at the base of Corona Heights Park, Peixotto (pronounced Pish-otto) Playground opened in 1951 on the site of a former rock quarry that later became a brick manufacturing plant. The park is accessed either by hiking down a paved path from the Randall Museum and past the tennis court, or by hiking up steep 15th Street from Castro, and making a left on Beaver Street. The playground entrance is marked by a sign on the fence next to an apartment building, but you have to hike up the driveway to see its main attraction: a 50-foot wall of shining red chert stone exposed by the quarrying operation. The landslide was loosened by an atmospheric river that brought days of hard rain, culminating on Jan. 1, 2023. The slide was 80 feet long and 20 feet wide and took out 36 feet of chain-link fence before coming to rest on the edge of the playground. The children's play area itself was not damaged, nor was the clubhouse, home to the Rocky Mountain Participation Nursery School since the 1970s. 'It's a nice blend of a natural resource area with a playground and a clubhouse in the middle,' said Andersen. After the slide, geologists determined the hillside to be unsafe and both the playground and the clubhouse were closed pending full repairs. FEMA declared it an emergency, which merited funding for the work. During the cleanup, city crews discovered an irrigation leak that was affecting water service in the clubhouse. Crews then took the opportunity to spruce up and repaint the clubhouse and renovate the play area. Logs that had come down in the storm were repurposed as seating areas, and a new lawn and sprinkler system were installed. The Rocky Mountain Participation Nursery School returned in February and its industrious students set about rebuilding its community garden. Work crews were still on site, which allowed for a class project in drawing individualized thank-you cards for the workers. The slope stabilization project was finally completed on April 22. 'Peixotto Playground is a beloved neighborhood gem, and we're thrilled to have it fully restored and reopened,' said Recreation and Park Department General Manager Phil Ginsburg. 'Thanks to the incredible teamwork across our maintenance, structural and gardening crews — and a lot of creativity with natural materials — we were able to not just repair the damage, but make Peixotto even better than before.'
New York Post
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Tony Hawk stops by Bay Area's newly expanded skatepark, shreds
San Francisco's newly expanded skate park recently got a stamp of approval from the Birdman himself. Skateboarding legend Tony Hawk was in San Francisco on Tuesday to try out the new and improved U.N. Skate Plaza in the city's Civic Center, and was seen pulling off tailslides, kickflips and ollies. Hawk, the world's most recognizable professional skateboarder, shared video on Instagram of his skate session, and lauded the rehabbed skatepark. Advertisement 3 Tony Hawk is considered one of skateboarding's most enduring innovators AP 'The UN Skate Plaza recently got an upgrade!' he shared in the video's caption. 'If you build it, we will come… do vert tricks (and sloppy kickflips) on banks and curbs.' The trip was unannounced, so the video shows only a few people watching him defy physics. Advertisement 3 Hawk was in San Francisco to promote a video game. instagram/tonyhawk Tamara Barak Aparton, spokesperson for San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department, told SFGATE the city didn't even get a heads-up. 'We were as excited as everyone else to see it,' she told the site. The park first opened in November 2023, but was revamped earlier this year. Advertisement The park was expanded, and new structures were installed for skater's to trick off. 3 Hawk gave his stamp of approval to the new and improved park. instagram/tonyhawk The skating icon also has a new video game coming out. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 is a remake of the originals, and will be released in July. In his post, he noted the game will feature San Francisco as one of its environments. Advertisement San Francisco and Tony Hawk go way back. During the 2000 X Games, it was there that the legend became the first person to successfully land a 900-degree spin.
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
San Francisco's 4/20 festival is off for the 2nd year in a row
The Brief There won't be an official 4/20 celebration in Golden Gate Park for the 2nd year in a row. The Rec and Park Dept. will hold a smaller, sports-focused event in the space where the 4/20 celebration is typically held. With 4/20 falling on Easter Sunday, there are plenty of options this weekend for events in the city including in Dolores Park and Japantown SAN FRANCISCO - For a second year, the massive cannabis celebrations that we saw in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park on April 20th are off. The backstory In years past, 4/20 saw massive celebrations filling Robin Williams Meadow and spilling over to Hippie Hill in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Now, for a second year, that festival has failed to materialize. San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department said it will be replaced by a smaller festival in the same place focused on outdoor sports and fun. "This is the second annual Peace Love and Polo Field Day," said Daniel Montes from San Francisco's Recreation and Parks Department. "So, yeah, it's a day filled with sports like kickball, volleyball, cornhole, spikeball. There'll be food trucks. A big day with fun. It is different than traditional years." Cannabis industry experts said, for a second year, the organizers of the 4/20 festivities were unable to find a sponsor to underwrite the cost of hosting a free event that in the past hosted as many as 20,000 people and featured food, cannabis booths and a stage with big-name musical acts. Patrick Goggin is an attorney working in the cannabis space and said the industry is maturing and facing some serious issues, including, he said, over regulation, over taxation, and bigger operators moving in and edging out smaller competitors. "They have control of the market, and they've got what they need, and they don't need to sponsor it," Goggin said. "The consumers are there. The industry is going to remain. The multi-billion dollar industry is going to continue to grow." The official event was called off last year as well, but that didn't stop some cannabis fans from showing up to the area to light up at 4:20 in the afternoon. Organizers behind the Peace Love and Volo Field Day said, although the event isn't focused on cannabis, it doesn't mean that those who wish to indulge aren't welcome. "People are welcome to celebrate however they want to celebrate on Sunday and whatever holiday they want to celebrate," Montes said. "We just ask that people be safe." There is also a lot of competition for attention on Sunday. It's also Easter Sunday, so there will be religious celebrations underway throughout the city, as well as organized events at Dolores Park to celebrate the holiday. So, there are a lot of options competing for attention on this 4/20. No word at this point if 4/20 organizers are going to try to revive the festival next year.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
San Francisco's Great Highway park gets its official name
The Brief SF officials announced the new name for the new park at the Great Highway on Wednesday. Last month a lawsuit was filed to block the park. The park is set to debut to the public on Saturday, April 12 with a community celebration. SAN FRANCISCO - Sunset Dunes it is. San Francisco's Recreation and Park Department announced the official new name for the park along the Great Highway on Wednesday. What we know The name was announced after a Rec and Park special meeting where commissioners chose between five finalists where the public had input on naming the new park. The naming contest garnered 3,900 responses, which were whittled down to 3,200 potential names. Officials said this response was overwhelming. The finalists were Playland Parkway, Sunset Dunes, Great Parkway, Fog line and Plover Parkway. The chosen name emerged after an hour of deliberation and public comment. The final vote came down to four who said yes, and two who said no to Sunset Dunes. "Sunset Dunes beautifully reflects both the natural beauty and the iconic spirit of San Francisco," said Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg. "We are thrilled to officially welcome Sunset Dunes as a new, vibrant addition to our city's treasured parks, offering an unforgettable coastal experience for generations to come." The criteria for the name had to consider connection to nature, historical significance, community resonance, iconic placemaking and overall clarity, city officials said. "Sunset Dunes will provide stunning views of the Pacific Ocean, lush coastal ecosystems, and attractions and programming to keep visitors engaged," officials with Rec and Park said in a news release. The park will include areas for skateboarding, hammocks to relax on and other seating areas, public art installations, a bike pump track, fitness classes, and live music. The backstory The concept of the park has hit some roadblocks. Not everyone likes the idea of closing the Great Highway to traffic permanently, but Prop. K, which proposed this exact plan, won at the ballot box in November. The 2-mile stretch of Great Highway officially closed to traffic on March 14. Last month, a lawsuit was filed to block the park. Opponents of the newly-named Sunset Dunes argue plans were rushed through and did not follow the law. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, said backers of the plans didn't do their due diligence on environmental concerns and said the state has final say on how roads are ultimately used, not cities. Residents and businesses in the area are concerned with how traffic will be impacted. One local hardware store owner we spoke with previously said the park's creation will jam up 19th Avenue, making it unsafe for children, the elderly and will impact businesses. Supervisor Joel Engardio, who oversees the area, has borne the brunt of the blame. Residents have begun an effort to have him recalled because the idea for the park was pitched by him. Signs both for and against the recall effort can be seen in the Sunset neighborhood. With the community divided over the park, some have gone to the extreme by vandalizing artwork for the new park. Last month we reported on two instances of vandalism, including a mural that was defaced and graffiti that was spray painted on the closed highway itself. What's next Sunset Dunes will be the largest pedestrian conversion project in California. The park officially debuts on Saturday, April 12, during a community celebration held on Noriega Street from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
