Lee Heidhues 1.27.2023
The legal effort to destroy JFK Promenade in Golden Gate Park and the The Great Walkway along the San Francisco shoreline may be over soon.
The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco appears to be bringing down the curtain on the last ditch legal effort which began in December 2021 in San Francisco Superior Court.
Failing to obtain an injunction in early 2022 ordering JFK Promenade and The Great Walkway be open to cars the plaintiffs, Open the Great Highway Alliance, took their case to a higher Court.
Turns out funding for this legal effort came from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
This fact came to light during last year’s FAMSF campaign for Proposition I and its opposition to Proposition J. Both efforts were funded by the FAMSF and its politically connected former Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Dede Wilsey wrote the 200K check paying the mercenary signature gatherers to qualify the ill fated Proposition I for the November 8, 2022 ballot.
It was a wasted effort. Proposition I was defeated by 65 percent of the voters. Proposition J, placed on the ballot by the Board of Supervisors, won an overwhelming 63 percent majority. Assuring car free JFK Promenade and The Great Walkway.
The soon to die lawsuit was the last gasp effort of the long entitled motorists.
After spending 800K to oppose car free areas on the ballot it appears Dede Wilsey and the FAMSF have finally seen the writing on the wall. No longer willing to bankroll this quixotic legal fight. A financial drain and more importantly bad for their image as stewards of culture in San Francisco.
San Francisco Ethics Commission filings for the FAMSF listed Open the Great Highway Alliance as a Filer. The same group which sued to bring cars back to these now car free spaces.
The following is from the Court of Appeal website. The Court is saying it is going to grant the City’s latest Request for Judicial Notice and, barring something extraordinary, will “DISMISS THE APPEAL AS MOOT.”
Lee's Perspective 