November 2022: Vote Yes on J for Safe Parks for All

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Campaign sign in the shape of a Rec and Park sign. White text reads: "Yes on J; Safe Parks for All." A red heart reading "JFK" is imposed over the J. The bacckground is green with shapes of people walking, biking, and using a wheelchair.

Proposition J will codify the permanent opening of JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park to alternative transportation. A car-free JFK creates a safe open space for recreation and encourages a transition away from fossil fuels. 

Visits to the park are up 36% over the period before the pandemic, and 70% of people surveyed approve of a permanent JFK Promenade. San Francisco League of Conservation Voters was an active and vocal supporter of the Car-Free JFK Campaign that resulted in the permanent car-free status. Our support of a car-free JFK continues.

Prop J is on the ballot to make the Mayor and Board of Supervisors’ decision to remove cars from a portion of JFK Drive permanent. It is in opposition to Prop I that would overturn the Golden Gate Park Access and Safety Program and reopen JFK Drive to motor vehicles. SFLCV recommends a no note on Prop I.

JFK Drive was on San Francisco’s High Injury Network prior to the pandemic, which means that it was one of the top 13% most-dangerous streets—a space dangerous for children, seniors, people with disabilities, runners, walkers, and people on scooters, bikes, and skates. Now, it is a safe, accessible space. In the past few years, improvements to the park have made it safer than ever before. 

To ensure that the park remains accessible for all, the number of ADA parking spaces in Golden Gate Park has been increased since the implementation of the JFK Promenade. The City has added 29 new ADA spaces, including a new dedicated parking lot behind the Music Concourse bandshell for a net increase in parking throughout the park. A new park shuttle runs every 15 minutes along JFK Promenade and connects all major park attractions to Muni, making Golden Gate Park even more accessible to more people in more parts of the City.

Transportation is our city’s #1 source of greenhouse gasses—private vehicles are responsible for the lion’s share at 72%. The only way we become a city where many more people make many more trips in sustainable ways is to make those options safe, easy, and enjoyable. What better place to start than in our city’s biggest park?

A permanent car-free JFK would be a key piece of an integrated, sustainable transportation network across the entire city. Even on weekdays during commuter hours, people are already starting to shift how they get around. If car-free JFK is made permanent, and if mobility and accessibility solutions continue to be added, it will change so much more than 1.5 miles of a street in Golden Gate Park. It will catalyze a change in how we think about what climate-friendly transportation can be in San Francisco and beyond.

San Francisco League of Conservation Voters says vote yes on Prop J.