Debate continues over traffic on SF Great Hightway
One week later of SF's Great Highway closure, debate continues
It's been one week since San Francisco's Great Highway was closed down to make way for a park. The closure has been controversial since it was proposed.
SAN FRANCISCO - One week since San Francisco's Great Highway was closed to make way for a park, the closure remains controversial.
Now, both sides of the issue are looking to see how traffic patterns have changed since the closure.
The signs are clear that the southern portion of The Great Highway running along San Francisco's west side is now closed.
While the closure was controversial, now supporters and opponents of plans to transform the four-lane highway into a park are now debating how it will impact traffic.
On the Nextdoor app, some neighbors are complaining, saying traffic that should be on The Great Highway is instead speeding down residential streets.
"I've lived on La Playa since February of 1992," said Joe Baker, who lives just off the Great Highway and says the impact of the road's closure has been clear.
"That traffic now being diverted down La Playa Street and down lower Great Highway, those cars are running right through those stop signs," Baker said. "Those cars are not slowing down for speed bumps."
Supporters of The Great Highway say they have data backing up their position that traffic has settled into a similar flow seen before the pandemic, highlighting posts they gathered that say the traffic nightmare that some had predicted never materialized.
Catherine Unertl lives on 45th Avenue, just a few blocks from the Great Highway and said she's seen a modest increase in traffic.
"I think during rush hour, there's a little bit more traffic than would ordinarily be on the highway," said Unertl. "But, most of the day, it feels just like it did a week ago."
Commuters are learning to navigate the closure of The Great Highway.
KTVU watched as vehicles traveling northbound on The Great Highway turned onto Sloat Boulevard, and then made a U-turn to head north on The Lower Great Highway and 48th Avenue, which run parallel to The Great Highway.
Refugio Haro said before it closed, the Great Highway was his preferred route to get to work.
"With the Great Highway you used to go 35 miles per hour to get to one end to the other," said Haro. "It was a beautiful drive."
He takes the detour up 48th Avenue and says it has added a few minutes to his drive, but says overall it hasn't made a major impact on his morning commute.
"It's a little slower because of all the cars trying to figure out which way to go," said Haro.
People are still learning how to navigate around this closure, and traffic patterns are still developing.