Wikipedia

Sunset Dunes

Sunset Dunes
May 2025
Map
Interactive map of Sunset Dunes
TypeUrban park, Linear park
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Coordinates37°45′04″N 122°30′31″W / 37.7510°N 122.5087°W / 37.7510; -122.5087
Area77 acres (31 ha; 0.120 mi2; 0.31 km2)
OpenedApril 12, 2025 (2025-04-12)
Owned bySan Francisco Recreation & Parks Department
Operated bySan Francisco Recreation & Parks Department
OpenAll year, 5 a.m. to Midnight
ParkingStreet parking
Public transit accessMuni
WebsiteOfficial website

Sunset Dunes is a 2 mi (3.2 km) long public urban park next to Ocean Beach on the West Side of San Francisco, California.[1] The park is located on a former location of the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard. The 77-acre (31 ha) park opened on April 12, 2025, making it the largest pedestrianization project in California's history.[2][3][4] The park converted 17 acres of roadway into separated walking and cycling paths with the coastal side for slower speeds and the inland side for faster speeds.[5] The park has art installations, exercise equipment, log benches and hammocks.[6]

History

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Further information: Great Highway § Pedestrianization of middle section
Opening day of Sunset Dunes on April 12, 2025

The upper portion of the Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard was closed to motor vehicles on certain days starting in April 2020 to provide San Franciscans space to social distance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the upper Great Highway would close around 27 times annually for sand and debris removal.[7] In 2024, a ballot measure known as Proposition K was proposed by San Francisco supervisors Joel Engardio and Myrna Melgar to permanently close the Upper Great Highway and repurpose the space as a new park.[8] On November 9, 2024, Proposition K passed 55% to 45%.[2]

The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department received a $1 million grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy Board to help convert the upper Great Highway into a park including restoring coastal habitat.[9][10] New transit infrastructure upgrades were conducted on the roads around the Great Highway to accommodate the additional traffic present from closing the upper Great Highway.[9][11][12]

After being closed to car traffic on March 14th, the park opened on April 12, 2025.[13][5][2] At least 13,000 people visited the park on its opening day.[14] Volunteers and city workers had helped to install benches, remove traffic lights, add wayfinding signs to nearby local businesses and add exercise equipment.[2]

Name

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Before receiving its official name of Sunset Dunes, the park was referred to as Ocean Beach Park or Great Highway Park.[15]

The park's name was selected following community engagement. The San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department initially received 4,200 name suggestions between March 1 and 16, 2025.[15] These name suggestions were narrowed down to 3,200 potential names by Recreation & Parks Department staff members to eliminate inappropriate names. After a community meeting attended by 240 participants, 15 potential names that ensured "historical significance, connection to nature and geography, and iconic placemaking" were selected from the 3,200. A citywide survey was held from March 20 to April 2 to choose a name from the 15 potential names.[15] The five finalists of this survey were Sunset Dunes, Playland Park, Great Parkway, Fogline, and Plover Parkway.[13] The San Francisco Recreation and Park Commission selected Sunset Dunes as the park's name from a group of five finalists on April 9, 2025.[15][13][16]

Future

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Since the park's official opening in April 2025, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department has initiated a Community Engagement Process to gather stakeholder feedback on the interim improvements and ideas for the future of park space. The community engagement process, along with feasibility and technical studies, will support a Visioning and Planning Process, that will begin in 2026.[17] This planning process is paid for in part by a one million dollar Resiliency Grant to plan the future of the coastal park space.[18]

Although many residents of the Sunset and Richmond District expressed concern that repurposing the roadway as a park may worsen traffic,[15] a study released in April 2025 that collected local traffic data before and after the closure of the upper Great Highway showed that it led to minimal changes in commutes for drivers.[19] San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency data and analysis released in July 2025 also showed minimal changes in travel times for drivers and no changes to transit service travel times or service quality.[20] Local agencies promised to continue to collect data and address traffic and transit related issues across the Sunset District, should they arise.[21]

Since the partial closure of the Great Highway, District 4 (which includes Sunset Dunes) Supervisor Joel Engardio was recalled from office due to his support for Proposition K, and his replacement Alan Wong has backed returning vehicular traffic to the Great Highway. At the same time, the park is among the city's most visited, especially among District 4 residents.[22][5]

References

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  1. ^ "Sunset Dunes". San Francisco Recreation and Parks, CA. Archived from the original on 2025-07-14. Retrieved 2026-02-14.
  2. ^ a b c d Knight, Heather (2025-05-27). "This California Highway Is Now a Park. The Cars Are Gone, but Not the Anger". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
  3. ^ Peters, Cate; SFGate; TNS (2024-09-05). "California's Largest Pedestrian Project Becomes Contentious Fight". Governing. Retrieved 2026-01-23.
  4. ^ "Recreation and Parks Properties". DataSF. San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department. Retrieved Feb 12, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b c Schneider, Benjamin (May 14, 2025). "How a Highway Became San Francisco's Newest Park". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved May 15, 2025.
  6. ^ Reynolds, Christopher (2025-08-05). "Is San Francisco in its comeback era? Here are 12 terrific new things to do in the city". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Meaghan; Campodonico, Christina (February 3, 2021). "Like it or not: The Great Highway will change". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  8. ^ Cooke, Riley (June 20, 2024). "San Francisco voters could turn Great Highway into permanent oceanfront park". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  9. ^ a b Cheang, Ko Lyn (November 22, 2024). "S.F. awarded $1 million to fund future Great Highway park, approved by voters". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on 2025-01-31. Retrieved 2025-04-10.
  10. ^ Lara, Juan Carlos (2024-10-17). "Turning SF's Great Highway Into a Park Will Have Major Ecological Benefits, Report Says | KQED". www.kqed.org. Retrieved 2026-01-24.
  11. ^ Salazar, James (February 24, 2025). "Traffic upgrades progressing along Great Highway". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  12. ^ Salazar, James (January 4, 2025). "Traffic-signal upgrades coming to Great Highway". San Francisco Examiner. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  13. ^ a b c Mauhay-Moore, Sam (April 9, 2025). "New name for park on San Francisco's Great Highway has been revealed". SFGATE. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  14. ^ Goard, Alyssa (April 13, 2025). "San Francisco's Sunset Dunes draws thousands of visitors amid continued controversy". NBC Bay Area. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
  15. ^ a b c d e Whiting, Sam (April 9, 2025). "S.F.'s newest — and most controversial — park finally has a name". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  16. ^ "San Francisco's Newest Coastal Park Officially Named Sunset Dunes". San Francisco Recreation and Parks. April 9, 2025. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  17. ^ "Explore Our Parks - Sunset Dunes". San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. City and County of San Francisco. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  18. ^ "Press Release: California State Coastal Conservancy Awards $1 Million Resiliency Grant to Great Highway Project". San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. City and County of San Francisco. November 21, 2024. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  19. ^ Leahy, Garrett (April 7, 2025). "Great Highway closure made Sunset traffic worse, data shows". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved April 9, 2025.
  20. ^ "New Data on Great Highway Road Closure: How We're Supporting Your Trips". SFMTA. July 25, 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
  21. ^ "Outer Sunset Traffic Management Project". San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). City and County of San Francisco. Retrieved 23 September 2025.
  22. ^ Leahy, Garrett (2025-12-31). "In San Francisco's transit war, cars are clawing back". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2026-01-05.
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