Stand With Joel
By Supervisor Joel Engardio
Serving the Sunset is an honor and privilege. I strive to be a responsive and accessible supervisor, working to fix everything from trash cans to traffic flow.
Many Sunset residents are telling me they do not support a recall — and they include voters who don’t agree with every policy position I’ve taken.
They say the entirety of my work — not just one issue — is what matters. They like how I focus on public safety, fight for education, champion small businesses, and support creating the housing that families need to stay in San Francisco.
As supervisor, I’ve:
Legislated ability to create more middle-income and senior housing
Installed signal lights for better traffic flow and safer streets
Standing with Joel
A number of Sunset residents are reaching out to say why they’re standing with me. I’ve created a new website to share their statements: StopTheEngardioRecall.com
If you want to join them, please visit the website to add your voice.
Recall or not, I will continue to serve your needs. If you require assistance with anything in your neighborhood, my staff and I will be happy to help. My door, phone, and email in-box are open to you anytime and I am committed to working with you to address your concerns.
Together, we can create our best Sunset.
Traffic improvements
Everyone can agree that we must improve street and pedestrian safety while helping drivers get where they need to go on the westside.
I’ve been coordinating city and state agencies to accelerate the completion of:
New traffic signal at Lincoln and 41st Avenue, which replaces a four-way stop sign. The traffic engineering and signal crew at SFMTA deserve a big thanks. They constructed this signal in record time — and in the rain. In the weeks after turning on the new signal, SFMTA will monitor and make adjustments to the light at 41st and Lincoln. This includes timing and looking at the left turn. Making adjustments is standard with a new light.
New traffic signal at Sloat Boulevard and Skyline, which replaces a three-way stop sign.
A new traffic signal at Skyline and Great Highway, which allows for a smoother commute on Skyline and safer pedestrian crossing from Lake Merced to planned hiking trails near the coast. This signal will also direct traffic into a new parking lot for access to the coast.
Sunset Boulevard repaving, plus repositioning of bus stops on the far side of each intersection for better traffic flow in the right turn lane.
Intersection upgrades at Great Highway and Lincoln. New double turn lanes will be installed in both directions, allowing better traffic flow from Great Highway to Lincoln and visa-versa. Traffic signals will get programmed so a complete green-yellow-red signal will replace today’s blinking red. These improvements will make it easier for drivers to go around Golden Gate Park to access the Sunset and Richmond neighborhoods.
Note: The goal of the new signal at Lincoln and 41st Avenue is to improve traffic flow on Lincoln. Traffic flow improvements at Great Highway and Lincoln will make it smoother to use the Great Highway between Point Lobos, Balboa, Fulton, and Lincoln to go around Golden Gate Park. Traffic engineers are making it faster to go around the park instead of cutting through it. Then traffic can use Lincoln to Sunset Boulevard. This will remove pressure from Chain of Lakes.
After last November’s election, I asked then Mayor-elect Lurie to partner together on westside traffic improvements. He and I agreed the city needed to complete several major infrastructure projects to get residents where they need to go. And we agreed to put key improvements in place before any road closure of the Great Highway.
We’ve cut through the bureaucracy to see results in a matter of months versus what has normally taken years. We need to apply this can-do spirit to projects throughout the city as we work to create our best San Francisco.
My advocacy also helped secure millions of dollars for new traffic signals on Lincoln Way at La Playa and on Lincoln at 45th Avenue.
Through my work with the County Transportation Authority (each city supervisor also serves as a commissioner on the CTA board), I have funded more than six miles of new stop signs, safer crosswalks, and speed humps in District 4. Many of these treatments are targeted on streets adjacent to the Sunset’s schools. These improvements help make our neighborhood more safe for everyone.
Recall background
I’m humbled by the views of residents who opposed Prop K. Many said they didn’t feel heard in the process, and I take their concerns to heart.
People are worried about street safety and traffic flow. These are valid concerns. That’s why I’m working with Mayor Lurie to ensure key traffic improvements are made before any road closure.
I was one of five supervisors to put the measure to a democratic vote of the people. Passed by San Francisco voters, it closes the Great Highway to cars between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard to create a new Ocean Beach Park.
This makes lemonade out of a lemon sent by Mother Nature. Due to severe coastal erosion, the state has directed San Francisco to close the southern section of the Great Highway. This connection to Daly City was already legislated to close. The northern section that connects the Richmond and Sunset neighborhoods remains open to cars 24/7 and is not affected by Prop K.
Case against recall
Many Sunset residents are telling me they do not support a recall. They say the entirety of my work — not just one issue — is what matters. And this includes voters who didn’t agree with me on Prop K. They’re also letting me know they oppose my recall.
While voters have a right to recall elected leaders, many Sunset residents say recalls should be reserved for the most egregious offenses and repeated job failures. For example, when the school board was recalled in 2022, parents could point to numerous actions (or lack of action) that demonstrated near total job failure. By contrast, the residents against my recall say I’m a hard-working supervisor delivering results on a number of issues they support.
They like how I focus on public safety, fight for education, champion small businesses, and support the housing that families need to stay in San Francisco.
They don’t believe the misinformation about Prop K often repeated online. They believe the city’s Department of Emergency Management when it says the Great Highway is not a designated evacuation route for residents and that there will always be a road for emergency vehicles, even after a section of it becomes a park.
They understand that I opposed a 2022 ballot measure (Prop I) to reopen the Great Highway to cars 24/7. I’ve always talked about the pending closure of the Great Highway south of Sloat due to coastal erosion and how it would create the opportunity for a permanent oceanside park between Lincoln and Sloat. This language has been on my website and platform since my campaign in 2022. I publicly said at candidate forums that I was against Prop I in 2022. Given the options of Prop I and the weekend compromise, I supported keeping the park closed to cars on weekends versus a 24/7 road for cars. I also talked about how Prop I would preclude any opportunity for a permanent park.
They know that recalling me will not change the outcome or implementation of Prop K.
Robust public discussion
This issue has been discussed and debated publicly for nearly four years and there were only two ways to resolve it: By the voters directly or by the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors. Either way, residents or supervisors on the eastside would have a say.
In 2022, Prop I backers didn’t object to a citywide vote on the Great Highway when it was their ballot measure. And when Prop I failed, its backers filed lawsuits and multiple appeals to kill the temporary weekend closure.
That’s why we needed additional voter clarity about what to do with a section of our coast — because the coast belongs to everyone. Prop K allowed for even more robust public discussion leading up to the election. Campaigns were able to form for and against the measure in the most open, democratic, and transparent process possible.