| Sunset Dunes | |
|---|---|
_01.jpg) May 2025 | |
 Interactive map of Sunset Dunes | |
| Type | Urban park,Linear park |
| Location | San Francisco,California,United States |
| Coordinates | 37°45′04″N122°30′31″W / 37.7510°N 122.5087°W /37.7510; -122.5087 |
| Area | 50 acres (0.20 km2) |
| Opened | 2025 |
| Website | sfrecpark |
Sunset Dunes is a two-mile (3 km) longurban park next toOcean Beach on theWest Side ofSan Francisco, California.[1] The park is located on a former location of theGreat Highway betweenLincoln Way andSloat Boulevard. It opened on April 12, 2025,[2] making it the largest pedestrianization project in California's history.[3]
The upper portion of the Great Highway betweenLincoln Way andSloat Boulevard was closed to motor vehicles on certain days starting in April 2020 to provide San Franciscans space tosocial distance during theCOVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the upper Great Highway would close around 27 times annually for sand and debris removal.[4] In 2024, a ballot measure known asProposition K was proposed bySan Francisco supervisorsJoel Engardio andMyrna Melgar to permanently close the Upper Great Highway and repurpose the space as a new park.[5] On November 9, 2024, Proposition K passed 54% to 46%.[6]
The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department received a $1 million grant from theCalifornia State Coastal Conservancy Board to help convert the upper Great Highway into a park.[7] 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.[7][8][9]
The park opened on April 12, 2025.[10][11] At least 13,000 people visited the park on its opening day.[12]
The park's name was selected following community engagement. TheSan Francisco Recreation & Parks Department initially received 4,200 name suggestions between March 1 and 16, 2025.[13] 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.[13] The five finalists of this survey were Sunset Dunes, Playland Park, Great Parkway, Fogline, and Plover Parkway.[10] 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.[13][10][14]
Before receiving its name, the future park was referred to as Ocean Beach Park or Great Highway Park.[13]
In November 2024, San Francisco voters approved Proposition K with 55% choosing to move forward with a coastal park instead of maintaining a road.[2] Since the park opening in April 2025, San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department has since initiated a Community Engagement Process to gather stakeholder feedback on the interim improvements and ideas for the future of park space going forward. The community engagement process, along with feasibility and technical studies, will support a Visioning and Planning Process, that will begin in 2026.[15] This planning process is paid for in part by a one million dollar Resiliency Grant to plan the future of the coastal park space.[16]
Although many residents of theSunset andRichmond District expressed concern that repurposing the roadway as a park may worsen traffic,[13] in the time since the park opened, a study 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.[17] Subsequent San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency data and analysis also showed minimal changes in travel times for drivers and no changes to transit service travel times or service quality.[18] Even so, local agencies are continuing to collect data and adress traffic and transit related issues across the Sunset District, should they arise.[19]