Presidio Parkway celebrates 10 years, new park area opens

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, California Secretary of Transportation Toks Omishakin and others gathered last week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the opening of the Presidio Parkway.

And this week, a new section of park connected to the Presidio Parkway project opened. A decade ago, Doyle Drive was transformed from an aging, earthquake-vulnerable structure into the safe and reliable Presidio Parkway — a gateway to San Francisco. 

The Presidio Parkway replaced Doyle Drive, a 1.6-mile segment of Route 101 that serves as the southern access point to the Golden Gate Bridge. MTC allocated $80 million in bridge toll funds to the project.

Doyle Drive was built in 1936 and no longer met highway standards and was structurally and seismically deficient. Beginning in the early 1970s, Caltrans undertook several studies to examine improvements to Doyle Drive. While the public supported improving safety conditions on Doyle Drive, it did not want capacity to be increased.

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors had established the Doyle Drive Task Force in 1991 to review various proposals developed by Caltrans. In early 1993 the Task Force identified a preferred replacement alternative that balanced Caltrans’ requirements with environmental and community concerns. 

Later in 1993 Caltrans completed a Project Study Report identifying several alternatives based on the task force recommendations. Then in 1994, the National Park Service assumed responsibility for the Presidio as a newly established National Park. It incorporated its main objectives for the Doyle Drive improvements into its general management plan, focusing on maintaining the surrounding area’s historical value, minimizing noise pollution impacts, and enhancing access and circulation.

In 1996, the San Francisco County Transportation Authority (SFCTA), which is responsible for transportation planning, design and funding in San Francisco County, completed the Doyle Drive Intermodal Study. It supported the task force and National Park Service recommendations emphasizing median separation to improve safety, multimodal access to the Presidio, and design aesthetics.

SFCTA and Caltrans submitted an Initial Finance Plan to the Federal Highway Administration in May 2009 and the construction schedule was accelerated to take advantage of Federal Recovery Act funding and gain seismic safety conditions as soon as possible. Construction of a portion of the new roadway and a temporary detour began in late 2009 and reached substantial completion in April 2012, then opened fully in July 2015. 

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy received a $25 million gift from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation to build trails and landscape on what is known as the Presidio Tunnel Tops. That project provided 13 new acres of parkland on the tunnels over the roadway, and connect the Presidio Main Post of the Presidio with Crissy Field. 

Nearly three years to the day from the opening of the Presidio Tunnel Tops, this week park managers cut the ribbon on its expansion with the Outpost Meadow picnic area, a new 1.5-acre green space.