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🚧 ICYMI, GREAT HIGHWAY HIGHS + LOWS: The closed roadway is expected back on the ballot in November, and no one has checked in recently on claims of traffic speeds and street safety.
Kristi Coale dug in to see what's happened on D4 streets ~1 year post- @sunsetdunes.org. thefrisc.com/perception-v...
When politicians make claims, we fact check. 📋 We can't do this work without you. Support our reporting (and data deep-diving) with a donation to our local nonprofit newsroom. thefrisc.com/donate-s
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🚦 NEW, TRAFFIC TRUTHS: The Great Highway has been up for a vote four times with supes and citizens since 2022. Ahead of another potential vote in November, @unazurda.bsky.social dug into the data.
Are claims of dangerous drivers and clogged streets true? Find out 👇 thefrisc.com/perception-v...
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🛑 NEW, SENIOR MOMENT: Nearly 100 new subsidized senior apartments were slated to start construction next year along the Great Highway, despite neighbor complaints. Now the project's delayed. Adam Brinklow digs into reasons and SF housing politics too 👇
thefrisc.com/trump-not-ni...
Bonus photo from tonight: Between SF and Ireland, it’s gotta be 5 o’clock somewhere, right? Thanks to the venerable United Irish Cultural Center of hosting
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And just like that, it's over. We didn't record every comment and statement, of course, but we hope this gave you a sense of where the candidates stand. The format didn't lead to much discussion or depth of ideas. Hopefully the candidates can flesh out some of those ideas in the next few months.
Audience Q: who are you supporting for the Congressional primary?
- Wong: No position yet
- Lee: No position yet
- Greco: Chan
- Gee: Chan
- Chow: Chan
Chow: I was asked by many people to run "because I've done so much for this community and I can bring balance back to SF."
Greco: Part of the division in the city was the recall. He dings Chow for running for supervisor after being part of the recall.
Lee jumps in to say: I didn't support the recall. He didn't live here when it happened, but he would have voted against the recall.
Q for Greco: If this goes back on the ballot, what would you do?
Greco: I'd do everything I can to stop them. He says "you can't remove the skate ramp and structures. It's a park."
Gee talks about phasing in the park over years. "It's important to bring people together for all sides for any major decision."
Gee: Every time we talk about this there's tension. "I want everyone to release that tension." She says we shouldn't have "rushed a ballot measure" and close something "so fast." She says she tried to rename a park in Vis Valley and it took 6 yrs because "they were being intentional."
Chow says all the stuff on the road like the octopus and the skate park is "great" and we can still have them if we bring cars back. He calls Sunset Dunes "a nice idea that wasn't fully fleshed out."
Wong: Everywhere I go it's the first thing brought up and the "most divisive" issue I've heard. "We just have different perspectives and priorities."
Another audience Q: Many of us love Sunset Dunes. Why destroy the park we love?
Lee: I support a compromise. (Back to open to cars on weekdays.) He says he bikes a lot and uses it every day -- and doesn't see a lot of ppl Mon-Thur. But a lot of people come Friday.
Wong says @sfmta.bsky.social must work on traffic safety measures that work. He criticizes the "neckdown" idea
A note re Wong's data: the 1st month post-closure had 28 collisions, the highest # since Jan. 2019.
@sfmta.com says the 1st couple months after traffic changes should be taken with a grain of salt while drivers adjust. The highest month total the rest of 2025? 13 in June. the #s go down from there.
Wong talks about his data that he said showed D4 being less safe b/c of the GH closure. "Happy to share it." He used data for the first few months post closure
www.sfexaminer.com/news/politic...
Greco: I've lived on a busy street for 25 yrs; people have always run stop signs. It was a day of bliss when I saw motorcycle cops pulling ppl over. He wants more police presence.
Q about D4 traffic safety.
Chow: "Reopen the Great Hwy." Those cars have gone somewhere. "Traffic speeds have gone up" as people find other routes to go thru the Sunset. [That's not true. The data are mixed.]
Q about D4 traffic safety.
Gee: I'd love to give more power to traffic cops who hand out parking tickets to stop speeders. You should rely on your supe to advocate for you with @sfmta.bsky.social. She also wants to "improve transit options" and wants more lines
Gee is using her 1 min rebuttal to talk about the budget process. You (the public) should hold your supe accountable. She also said earlier that the mayor controls 90% of the budget. "We don't have a lot of control, but we have the ability to bring community with us to hearings" in May and June
To be clear, the 2020 overpaid executive tax was modified in the 2024 business tax reform. Now there's another CEO tax coming to the ballot this year: missionlocal.org/2026/01/sf-c...
Greco: We need a CEO tax. Unclear if he's knows about this: sftreasurer.org/business/tax...
We have to spend more on health care. "It's rising and groceries are rising"
Next Q is what to do abt the budget deficit and potential layoffs. Lee: pause capital projects, perhaps? Eliminate redundant positions across depts? Don't fill positions when people retire? Look for efficiencies, he says.