The San Francisco Recreation and Parks Commission has settled on a final name for the new park that recently replaced the Upper Great Highway.
After about an hour of deliberation and public comment Wednesday, the commission chose “Sunset Dunes” as the new name on a 4-2 vote.
Commissioners had five names to pick from: Fog Line, Plover Parkway, Great Parkway, Playland Parkway, and Sunset Dunes.
Those names were selected from a list of more than 3,200 possibilities offered by the public. Criteria included evaluating the names’ connection to nature, history and the surrounding community.
Some names that didn’t make the final cut included Tan Line, Dune’s Day Park, Sandy Bottom and Drifting Dunes.
Out of the five final choices, most public commenters preferred Sunset Dunes because of its nod to the Sunset District where the park is located and the sand dunes that sit between the park and Ocean Beach.
Commissioners dwindled down the five names to three: Fog Line, Playland Park, and Sunset Dunes. Playland Parkway was modified to Playland Park in the final vote.
Giving a nod to history
Commissioner Larry Mazzola and Vice President Joe Hallisy voted for Playland Park as their favorite choice. Hallisy wanted Playland Park because the name honors a former amusement park that was located along the Great Highway.
“Anyone that grew up in San Francisco in the ’30s, ’40s, ’50s and ’60s had the opportunity to visit Playland at the beach,” Hallisy said. “It’s even more of a reason to salute that bit of history in our city.”
Sonya Clark-Herrera was the sole commissioner who wanted to see Fog Line as the new name, referring to how the fog is seen as a symbolic feature of San Francisco’s unique climate.
Commissioners Vanita Louie, Breanna Zwart and President Kat Anderson pushed for Sunset Dunes, citing how the name was by far the most popular choice in a survey of about 4,000 members of the public who responded with their preferences.
“Sunset Dunes is a more magnetizing, more attractive name than Fog Line,” Anderson said.
But not everyone was happy that a final name was being chosen. The selection of a name is another sign that the new park is officially coming together to replace the recently closed highway, a move that many west side residents opposed.
Mazzola lamented that he didn’t want to be in a position to make the choice as a west side resident who opposed the closure of the Upper Great Highway.
“I go into this vote today not feeling excited or proud,” Mazzola said. “Instead, I feel pressured to name something I never wanted in the first place, and a super majority of the west side feels exactly the same way as I do.”
A park many in Sunset District opposed
Measure K, the proposition that went to all San Francisco voters last November to choose whether to close a 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway to traffic and turn it into a park, passed by about 35,000 votes.
According to election results, most residents who voted against closing it lived on the city’s west side, the area that the closure would have the greatest impact on.
“I go into this vote today not feeling excited or proud. Instead, I feel pressured to name something I never wanted in the first place, and a super majority of the west side feels exactly the same way as I do.”
Commissioner Larry Mazzola
Commissioner Carey Wintroub was absent from Wednesday’s meeting and did not vote in the naming process.
Because Sunset Dunes edged out Playland Park by one vote when assessing the favorite names of each commissioner, Sunset Dunes went to a final vote. All commissioners except Mazzola and Hallisy voted in favor of Sunset Dunes.
“We have a new park named Sunset Dunes!” Anderson said.
Sunset Dunes will be the largest pedestrian conversion project in California. A grand opening to celebrate the new park is happening this Saturday, April 12.
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