The Great Highway is on the verge of ditching cars for good, but hold onto your sensor-laden, eco-friendly hats because a lawsuit is about to swerve into the picture. The news? Last November’s Prop K got the green light to transform a stretch of this highway into a car-free paradise. Cue the confetti for all the nature-loving, oxygen-breathing denizens of our fair city!

The plan was to turn this stretch between Sloat Boulevard and Lincoln Way into a blissful oceanfront park that even comes with its own naming contest. Unfortunately, before we can stuff our picnic baskets and set up our beach blankets, a lawsuit claims that the entire Prop K vote was illegally thrown on the ballot. Apparently, there’s a group of disgruntled residents led by Matt Boschetto and a few other car devotees trying to hang on to the past like a bad haircut.

Mark your calendars because Friday, March 14, will be the last day that cars can cruise the Great Highway, with the closure kicking in at noon. After that, it’s a complete automotive no-fly zone unless you’re driving an emergency vehicle or a city truck involved in some kind of bureaucratic shuffle.

In true San Francisco fashion, supporters of the park are rolling their eyes and rolling up their sleeves, declaring this lawsuit just another desperate ploy to undermine democratic votes. Lucas Lux, president of Friends of Ocean Beach Park, didn’t hold back, calling out the plaintiffs for trying to “overturn the will of San Franciscans” after their previous attempts flopped harder than a fish out of water.

But wait, does this lawsuit have any weight? Well, it’s arguing that because the Board of Supervisors facilitated this ballot, it violates the California Environmental Quality Act. Spoiler alert: Environmental protection laws barely keep the bureaucratic monsters at bay in a city that seems to endure more construction than a toddler’s Lego set.

So, will cars return to the Great Highway? It’s a race against time for the lawsuit to throw a wrench in plans before Friday arrives. For the people rooting for pollution-free strolls on sandy shores, let’s keep our fingers crossed while we sip on overpriced oat milk lattes and wait for the park to finally open. Nature is calling, and it’s about time we answer the phone with something other than a honk.

The question is, can the plaintiffs throw down a legal roadblock in time? Stay tuned. At least we know who’s got our back in the battle against cars in paradise: the eco-warriors of San Francisco and their relentless pursuit of green spaces over gridlock.