The California Coastal Commission gave its unanimous nod of approval on Thursday for the permanent closure of San Francisco’s Upper Great Highway, which was supported by city voters through Proposition K’s passage in November .
The commission, meeting in Newport Beach at the Newport Beach Civic Center for its final three-day monthly meeting of 2024, voted to permit the city to move forward with the plan to close the coastal road to vehicles seven days a week and eventually replace it with a park.
Brian Stokle, a planner with the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department, told commissioners by Zoom that the closure could happen as soon as spring, after habitat signs and fencing are installed, and initial dune restoration work is completed.
The closure will expand on an initial closure during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, which was continued by a pilot program established in 2022 that closed the Upper Great Highway between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard on weekends and holidays.