The effect of the highway closure was studied by SFMTA: https://www.sfmta.com/blog/new-data-great-highway-road-closure-how-were-supporting-your-trips
Some roadways are busier and more congested. Chain of Lakes Drive has about 2,000 more vehicles per day than pre-closure. Lower Great Highway has about 700 more vehicles per day – that means about one additional vehicle per minute at peak hour –compared with pre-pandemic traffic.
At the same time, traffic on the Upper Great Highway between Fulton and Lincoln has dropped by 30%. Together, these two major park crossings – Chain of Lakes Drive and the Upper Great Highway – now carry about 3,200 fewer weekday car trips than before the closure. This suggests that while some traffic has shifted to nearby streets, other trips may have moved to different routes, different types of transportation, or aren’t happening anymore.
Other roadways remain below pre-pandemic traffic. Sunset Boulevard remains at 90% of pre-pandemic traffic volumes. Lincoln Way east of Chain of Lake was not impacted by the closure of the Upper Great Highway and remains 7% below pre-pandemic traffic volumes.
While some traffic has shifted to avenues, all the avenues where we collected data had typical traffic volumes for neighborhood streets.
That park is a great asset to the neighborhood. It started because roads were closed during the pandemic and people really liked having a place to take the kids, get to the beach, and not have to worry about cars. Traffic data shows closure impact is minimal. But some people are still raging that they have to drive a few blocks out of their way.
Apparently, the Glasshole lesson was not learned.