SF voters pass Milk plaza, City Clinic bond; close westside highway

  • by John Ferrannini, Assistant Editor
  • Wednesday November 13, 2024
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A rendering of Harvey Milk Plaza shows the familiar corner of Castro and Market streets, transformed and activated with a gathering around the new pedestal feature. Image: Courtesy Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza
A rendering of Harvey Milk Plaza shows the familiar corner of Castro and Market streets, transformed and activated with a gathering around the new pedestal feature. Image: Courtesy Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza

San Francisco voters have passed a bond measure that will give City Clinic a new home and allocate $25 million toward the renovation of Harvey Milk Plaza. Voters also approved another measure that will permanently close the westside's Upper Great Highway to vehicle traffic.

As the Bay Area Reporter previously reported, Brian Springfield, a gay man who is the executive director of the Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza, was "very encouraged" by preliminary returns showing Proposition B passing late November 5. The measure needed over two-thirds of voters to approve it, and in subsequent days it became clear it had passed that threshold.

Preliminary returns as of November 11 show Proposition B passing 72.4% to 27.6%. Milk plaza and City Clinic are just two of many items in the $390 million bond measure for infrastructure, public spaces, and street safety projects.

Prop B's passage will move the plaza project significantly closer to the $35 million proponents need to raise before construction on it can begin.

Springfield talked about the importance of the plaza renovation project, which has been discussed for several years.

"The memorial represents more than just Harvey Milk," Springfield stated. "This project unites people — advocates, business owners, residents, and artists — who see an opportunity to capture Harvey's spirit and mission on this historic corner of the Castro.

"Today, we have reached this milestone because people believed in this vision and helped make it a reality," he added. "This is a powerful testament to what our community can accomplish when we organize at a grassroots level and come together as a community, which is something Harvey understood very well."

Milk was the city's first openly gay elected official when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk took office in January 1978 but was assassinated, along with then-mayor George Moscone, 11 months later by disgruntled ex-supervisor Dan White.

Cleve Jones, a longtime gay and AIDS activist who worked with the slain supervisor in the 1970s. He, too, has supported renovating the plaza.

"It was critical for the team to create a place that could change with the times and put the community at the center," Jones stated. "Today's world is different from the one Harvey left, but the issues he fought for — civil rights, fair housing and labor, and cities that welcome people regardless of race, gender, orientation, age, belief, or background — those burn even stronger. The value of a moment like this, we hope, is in renewing the flame."

Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), had secured $2.5 million in state funding toward the Milk plaza project. He previously said passage of Prop B would be "a game changer" for the fundraising campaign to secure the rest of the money the project proponents need to raise before construction can begin.

"Prop B's passage is a huge step toward modernizing our public health infrastructure and improving our public spaces," Wiener stated to the B.A.R. Tuesday. "Prop B will finally allow us to create a Harvey Milk Plaza our community deserves."

Located above the Castro Muni station, the public parklet is considered the front door to the city's LGBTQ neighborhood. Its main entrance fronts Castro Street, with the plaza extending along Market Street to Collingwood Street.

At the moment much of the back half of the space is behind construction fencing due to a city-funded project to add a second elevator for the subway station. It should be completed by early 2026 at a cost of upward of $30 million.

When the elevator was first proposed back in 2016, neighborhood leaders had also brought up redesigning the plaza. It kicked off a lengthy process to come up with a new design for the area amid opposition from those who fought to preserve the plaza's current configuration, as the B.A.R. has extensively reported on over the years.

City Clinic

Prop B also allocates $28.5 million will be used to relocate City Clinic, which since 1982 has been located in a 91-year-old building in the South of Market neighborhood that was once a firehouse. As the B.A.R. previously reported, the age and patient capacity of the building has at times made it nonfunctional — such as when a flood forced it to close for two days.

While City Clinic is open to anyone needing services, staff noted that 75% of those served by the clinic are men who have sex with men and they rely on the sexual health services it provides. There were over 11,000 appointments made in 2023.

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, a major proponent of the bond, told the B.A.R. that she's "grateful for the voters' support of Prop B."

"When we invest in our public health infrastructure, safe streets, and family homelessness, we make our city healthier and more resilient for all," the mayor stated. "I'm also proud that we are committing to transformative public space projects, especially at Harvey Milk Plaza. For too long this space at the corner of Castro and Market has not delivered on its potential as both a public gathering space and a celebration of the legacy of Harvey Milk."

Breed lost her race for reelection, as the B.A.R. reported.

Prop K passes

Voters also approved Proposition K, by 54.1% to 45.8%, according to preliminary returns as of November 11. This will lead to the closure of a portion of the Great Highway to make way for a park.

A precinct-level map shows the measure failed in every single precinct except one to the west of 19th Avenue, according to preliminary returns, while largely passing in the city's densest neighborhoods on the east side.

The highway is currently only open to vehicles on weekdays; a prior compromise led to the current status quo wherein it's closed to cars on weekends and open to them on weekdays.

But don't expect things to change anytime soon; Lucas Lux, the campaign manager for Yes on K, told the B.A.R. that after the measure's passage is certified, the city will need to request a permit from the California Coastal Commission to create a park, and the commission only meets once a month.

Shorter-term, expect benches and seats to be added on what's currently the Great Highway, he said.

"Longer-term, we're looking at ... a community engagement process" similar to those that occurred before Francisco Park and Crissy Field were created.

"The same will happen here," he said, adding he hopes the new Ocean Beach Park will be "one of the city's best spaces in the future," reminiscent of how the Embarcadero Freeway became today's Embarcadero back in the 1990s, following the freeway's demise after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.

"Our city's coast belongs to all San Franciscans, and last Tuesday's vote confirmed that they want a bold, forward-looking vision for our coast," Lux stated. "We thank San Franciscans for their support, and thank westside Supervisors [Joel] Engardio and [Myrna] Melgar for their leadership to put this important question directly to voters.

"Transformational changes like the removal of the Embarcadero and Central freeways, and the creation of Crissy Field, came with passionate debate — and produced some of our city's most iconic and beloved spaces," Lux added. "Ocean Beach Park will soon join that list. We look forward to working with residents — supporters and opponents alike — to make the most of our city's precious coastline."

Engardio, who is gay and represents District 4 (including the Outer Sunset) conceded on X that "Prop K does not have majority support in the Sunset, which is home to this part of the Great Highway."

"I understand and respect the views of voters who said no to Prop K," he stated. "I've knocked on thousands of doors the past few months to talk to Sunset residents one-on-one about the future of the Great Highway. I heard from many who were concerned about increased traffic on side streets and losing a convenient driving route."

Engardio pledged to improve transportation options on the westside.

"In listening to feedback from all Sunset residents, both pro-park and pro-highway people agree that City Hall must be more responsive to westside transportation needs," he stated. "That's why I am committed to addressing the traffic and street safety concerns of local residents.

"This includes improving the traffic flow on arterials like Lincoln Way and Sunset Boulevard to discourage cars from cutting through our local streets," he added. "Traffic signals at Lincoln/41st Avenue and Sloat/Skyline are already funded and scheduled to replace stop signs. Residents must have a greater say in which traffic calming measures they want in their neighborhoods, especially as the city plans for a park."

Melgar, a straight ally who represents District 7, didn't return a request for comment.

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