SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — The political fight over the future of San Francisco’s Great Highway had citizens on both sides of the debate back on the streets Saturday.

Prop K is a November ballot measure that would permanently close part of the road and turn it into a park.

“We’re here to ask voters what they want to do to our precious coast. We have an opportunity to create an oceanside park,” said Joel Engardio, District 4 San Francisco city supervisor. “It could bring a renaissance to the Sunset District and a boon to local business, create joy for generations to come, and is good for the environment.”

As part of a city pilot project, the two-mile stretch of road is already closed to vehicles on weekends and holidays, which became popular during the pandemic.

Pedestrians or cars: Tensions running high over future of San Francisco’s Great Highway

“We spent so much time on the Great Highway and on JFK, walking and strolling with a stroller, a kid on a bike in front of us. And we really discovered the coast and the sunset in way we hadn’t,” said Robin Pam, a San Francisco resident.

But those in opposition to Prop K say there’s no need to permanently close the highway.

“People are walking, biking and running in the shoulders or on the on the multi-use path, so there’s no need to shut it down,” said Stephen Gorski, a San Francisco resident.

MORE: SF clears RV homeless encampment along Lower Great Highway in Outer Sunset District

Those against the proposition say shutting down part of the highway means more traffic on neighborhood streets.

“Vehicles on the streets, where your kids are trying to play or walk on the sidewalk or get out of the car of their parents and things. It’s dangerous.,” Gorski said.

“The city has studied this multiple times, and the data don’t bear out that there will be a traffic concern,” said Heidi Moseson, spokesperson for “Yes” on K. “The arterial Sunset Boulevard, which is a nearby six-lane road, can more than absorb it.”

Meanwhile, the debate continues with the fate of this coastline in the hands of the voters.

The home’s showstopper is the street-facing double parlor that holds the living and dining rooms. A deep, molten red covers the walls just past halfway. A second hue takes your eyes up to the 11-foot ceilings. In the dining room, it’s a smoky navy, while the sitting room gets a brighter off-white. A custom daybed in the deep bay window is where you’re most likely to find Sheth, cuddled with his dog, Gilligan, a custom ashtray-cum-cupholder perched alongside. 

Taking pride of place on a coffee table is a striking and slightly sinister-looking vase filled with serpentine lotus pods, articulated carved-wood snakes forming the vessel’s ribs. Sheth’s art collection isn’t of the sort that fades into the background or complements the rug.

Tracing back to his days at CCA, he is part of an ever-expanding hive of local artists, and in addition to collecting for himself and clients, he recently started curating buzzy, nontraditional art shows in San Francisco and L.A. The snake vase, “Heads and Tails” by Caleb Ferris, was part of Sheth’s latest group show, “Vessel.” It featured 27 artists with Bay Area roots and will be revived through September, when a selection of the pieces are exhibited in small businesses and galleries around the Bay, including The Sidewalk Flowers in Cole Valley, the concept shop Strip Mall in Lower Nob Hill, LNB Atelier in China Basin, and Verso, a studio warehouse in West Oakland.