How much of the two miles between Lincoln Way and Sloat Boulevard is actually permanent? Walk the promenade this week and almost everything you pass, from the climbing ship at Judah to the granite skate ledges at Sloat, was designed so it could be taken out again. The newest feature runs on a one-year pilot permit, and the city describes the skate features and donated art as interim or temporary. The first permanent improvements are scheduled to start late this year, and the citywide vote on Proposition G falls on November 3, just before they do.
The playground opened with a one-year permit
Shipwreck Cove opened on Saturday, September 26, with sea shanties, a flag raised on the mast and a piñata shaped like a Champagne bottle, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. The story behind it involves a 19th-century sailing ship called "The Sandpiper" that broke apart on Ocean Beach. Kids climb a rope ladder to the crow's nest and dig in the sand for treasure.
The playground is 300 feet long and 30 feet wide. It fills most of the block between Judah and Kirkham, in the strip between the pedestrian promenade and the bike path. The ship was built by Something Labs, a side project run by designers who work at the Exploratorium. They used cypress, eucalyptus and redwood from trees the city cut down during projects in Golden Gate Park. The 3,200 square feet of sand came from Ocean Beach itself and was already on site, so the crew only had to add a border. Families can store shovels in boxes on site. The design calls for covering part of the old roadway in spongy, sea-blue surfacing for wheelchair access, and "xylocove" is a ring of metal plates anyone can play with a mallet.
The money came from private donors. Friends of Sunset Dunes commissioned the playground and raised $800,000 from about 1,000 individual donors. Rec and Park provided the land and a permit. That permit runs for one year as a pilot and could be extended indefinitely. Feedback is built into the design. A QR code on site collects suggestions, and Friends of Sunset Dunes founder Lucas Lux told the Chronicle the design team will act on them. The picnic tables were booked for birthday parties a month in advance before the ship was even finished.
The rest of the park was designed to be removable, too
Shipwreck Cove follows the same approach as every other feature on the old roadway. When Rec and Park announced each one, it described the feature as temporary or interim.
| Feature | Where | How Rec and Park describes it |
|---|---|---|
| Skate area: bank, quarter pipe, island feature, upcycled-granite elements | At Sloat Boulevard | "Interim improvements, designed to be relocated or removed as necessary" |
| Bike pump track and skills course | Next to the skate area | Completed April 2025, part of the park's opening features |
| Donated art installations | Along the promenade | Described as temporary |
| Shipwreck Cove | Judah to Kirkham | One-year pilot permit, extendable |
The skate area cost $80,000. It was designed with local skate advocates Ashley Rehfeld and Chris Long and built by Kanfoush Custom Concrete. Even so, the city's announcement said the features could be moved "as the park continues to evolve." That phrase fits most of Sunset Dunes. The park opened on April 12, 2025, after voters approved Prop K in November 2024. The city's one-year report counted more than 1.7 million visits. All of those visits happened on a park made mostly of pieces built to be moved.
The first permanent work is scheduled for late 2026
The first permanent improvements are on the city's schedule for this winter. In March 2026, the Recreation and Park Commission approved the Sunset Dunes Mobility and Access Improvements Project. The Board of Supervisors accepted a California Department of Parks and Recreation grant for it on July 28. According to the Sunset Dunes One Year Report, the project covers:
- Permanent bike and pedestrian signs, plus new bike and crosswalk striping
- A new accessible entrance at Noriega, with renovated curb ramps and pathways
- More seating, drinking fountain upgrades and restroom grab bars, as funding allows
Today the accessible entrances are at Judah, Taraval, Lincoln and Sloat. The city's surveys found that one in four people who visit with others bring a senior along. Work is expected to start in late 2026 and finish in 2027. These would be the first pieces of the park built to stay.
What Prop G would change, in the ballot's own words
The citywide vote on Tuesday, November 3, falls just before that work begins. A San Francisco Superior Court judge kept Proposition G on the ballot in August after Friends of Sunset Dunes challenged the petition, Mission Local reported. The official question in the November 2026 Voter Information Pamphlet reads:
Shall the City close Sunset Dunes Park from Monday at 4:00 a.m. through Friday at 6:00 p.m., unless a holiday falls on a weekday, in order to reopen the roadway known as the Upper Great Highway to private vehicles during that time?
A yes vote needs 50% plus one. If it passes, the city would also have to get every required approval, including any permits under the California Coastal Act. A no vote means the city makes none of these changes, and the roadway stays closed to private cars at all times.
The pamphlet's fiscal analysis puts the one-time capital cost of switching back at about $9.8 million. That figure breaks down into three parts:
- About $8.8 million for new traffic signals at eight intersections
- About $750,000 to remove existing park elements and restore roadway segments
- About $200,000 for temporary and permanent striping and signage
Most of the estimate is for traffic signals. Removing the park's features and restoring roadway segments accounts for less than a tenth of it. NBC Bay Area reported the same total, rounded to $10 million, citing Rec and Park. It also reported that features such as the playground would have to be removed if the measure passes, since the roadway would need to be clear for weekday traffic. Under the measure, Friday at 6 p.m. through Monday at 4 a.m. and weekday holidays would stay park time.
Judah Street has seen the same kind of turnover
A few blocks inland, one address shows the same pattern of turnover. Trouble Coffee opened at 4033 Judah St. in 2007, and the Chronicle credited it with starting the artisanal toast craze. It ran for 15 years. DamnFine took over the lease on July 2, 2022, Eater SF reported. DamnFine Coffee closed in late October 2025 after three years, and the owners shifted their focus to their pizzeria, according to Mission Local.
The new tenant had been in the building all along, through its pastries. Black Jet Baking Co. supplied pastries to both Trouble and DamnFine. When owners Lundgren and Max Newman heard the space was available, they took it. Black Jet Luncheonette was set to open there on October 23, the Chronicle reported. It's a breakfast and lunch spinoff of the Bernal Heights bakery Lundgren opened in 2017. The menu brings over the blackberry scones, laminated pastries, the Sprinkledoodle and a seasonal Pop-Tart-style pastry. Its name changes between "Redacted" and "Cease and Desist," a nod to a legal threat from Kellanova, the company that owns Pop-Tarts. Newman is adding made-to-order sandwiches, including a new chicken sandwich and a breakfast sandwich on a New England-style bulkie roll. Coffee comes from Dear Francis. Black Jet's website is the place to check for current Judah Street hours.
On Noriega, Maillards opened its first permanent location in late April 2026 at 3821 Noriega St. It shares the space with Two Pitchers Brewing Co. as a combined taproom and burger restaurant, after three years as a pop-up at the Outer Sunset Farmer's Market, the Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon reported.
The November calendar is set regardless of the vote
The Friends of Sunset Dunes calendar for the weeks after the election is already posted. The group notes that events can be moved, rescheduled or canceled.
- Every Wednesday, 11 a.m.: Chinese Community Dance, taught in Cantonese, at the Irving Activity Studio
- Wednesday, November 4, 4 to 5 p.m.: Acoustic Happy Hour at Noriega Sunset Lounge, the day after the vote
- Saturday, November 7, 9 a.m. to noon: Dune Revegetation at Sunset Dunes at Judah
- Sunday, November 8: 2nd Sunday Serenades from noon to 2 p.m. at Judah, and a Community Cleanup from 1 to 3 p.m. at Noriega
- Saturday, November 14: Dune Revegetation from 9 a.m. to noon at Judah, with Zumba and Shake the Fog! from 10:30 to 11:15 a.m. at Irving
The November 7 session installs brush to protect native dune grass, and the November 14 session moves on to harvesting and planting it. Both meet at Judah, the north end of Shipwreck Cove's block.
The Outer Sunset's oceanfront is changing week by week, and following those changes closely is part of how Brendon Kearney advises west side clients on timing and pricing. If you'd like to talk through what this fall's changes along Sunset Dunes and Judah Street could mean for your own plans, schedule a private consultation.
