A car-free stretch of highway in San Francisco leads to recall vote and warning to politicians

"During the coronavirus pandemic, the city closed a stretch of a four-lane highway along San Francisco's Pacific Coast and made it an automobile-free sanctuary where bicyclists and walkers flocked to exercise and socialize under open skies and to the sound of crashing waves. But with the post-pandemic return to school and work, resentment grew among neighborhood residents who relied on the artery to get around."

"Some blamed the district city supervisor who helped make the change permanent by placing on a citywide ballot a measure to turn the 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) stretch into a new park. On Tuesday, district voters will decide whether to recall Supervisor Joel Engardio. The recall of a local supervisor who represents one-tenth of a city of 800,000 might seem like minor politics. But the election highlights a San Francisco in flux and a still cranky, even emboldened electorate."

"This recall is really about the future of our city, said Engardio in an interview with The Associated Press. Do we want to be a city that just preserves itself in amber and goes back in time? Or do we want to be a city that innovates, thinks ahead, is forward-looking and welcomes new people? Who is Joel Engardio? Engardio, a crime victims' advocate, supported the previous recalls."

The city closed a stretch of a four-lane Pacific Coast highway during the coronavirus pandemic and converted it into an automobile-free sanctuary for bicyclists and walkers. The two-mile corridor became popular for outdoor exercise and socializing. As schools and workplaces reopened, neighborhood residents who depended on the roadway voiced resentment. A measure to make the stretch a permanent park was placed on the citywide ballot, prompting a recall vote against Supervisor Joel Engardio. The recall follows recent local recalls and signals a shifting, sometimes emboldened electorate. Engardio is a crime victims' advocate who supported previous recalls and won a Board of Supervisors seat in 2022.

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