Should SF's Great Highway permanently close to cars? Here's what both sides say on Prop K

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The debate over the future of San Francisco's Great Highway is heating up with just six days to go until Election Day.

Proposition K is a ballot measure that would permanently close part of the highway and turn it into a park.

Those opposing Prop K say the closure of San Francisco's Great Highway will cause immeasurable damage to the daily lives of working people across the city.

MORE: 2024 Bay Area Voter Guide

At a rally held in Golden Gate Park - organizers from the "No on K" committee" say the Great Highway serves an essential role in San Franciscans' lives.

They say it connects families, commuters and emergency services to vital parts of the city.

The author of the ballot argument in the San Francisco Voter Guide, tells us that closing the highway would create severe traffic issues, more congestion spilling out onto neighborhood streets and slower emergency response times.

"It's going to actually increase the potential for pedestrian accidents and for bike and car accidents by moving that volume of cars, which is almost 20,000 a day, into the neighborhoods. And those streets are not built for this volume of cars," said Richie Greenberg, a San Francisco resident. "It has no relation at all to pollution, there's still going to be the same number of cars that are there."

RELATED: Tensions rising over proposition that would close part of San Francisco's Great Highway

On the other side of things, San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston supports Prop K passing.

He was one of five supervisors that originally voted to put this measure on the ballot.

If approved, a portion of the Great Highway south of Golden Gate Park would closed and converted into a new park space.

As part of a city pilot project, the two-mile stretch between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way is already closed to vehicles on weekends and holidays, which became popular during the pandemic.

RELATED: Debate over changes to San Francisco's Great Highway intensify with Prop K

"It will certainly change people's route for driving and I understand that, that kind of change can be hard. But also as a city, we're trying to figure out ways to decrease car volume and then to look at how we can move people through other under-utilized roads," Supervisor Preston said.

"The idea of that being an incredible ocean side park instead of a really outdated highway, it just makes a lot of sense," he added.

It's important to note that the southern part of the highway is already closing because of erosion.

Prop K only needs a simple majority to pass.