Why We’re Concerned

Golden Gate Park is one of San Francisco’s most cherished public spaces. But when large-scale, ticketed concerts shut down major sections of the park for weeks at a time, they don’t just impact access — they affect residents’ ability to recreate, community safety, small businesses, and the health of the natural environment. In its August 20, 2025 newsletter, Rec & Park stated that it wants Golden Gate Park to be “the heart of San Francisco concerts.” But we cannot continue fencing off our city’s largest park and charging San Franciscans a fee to enjoy what was meant to be free, open space.

Here’s what else is at stake:

Community safety.

  • According to the San Francisco Fire Department, city EMTs and paramedics were not utilized during the three music festivals in Golden Gate Park in 2025. Instead, Another Planet Entertainment contracted a private ambulance service.

  • Concertgoers reported passing out due to crowding, with some leaving areas because they feared for their safety. (ABC7 News report)

  • Public safety in our city’s largest park should be managed with transparency and accountability, not outsourced to private contractors.

Access & congestion.

  • Events like Outside Lands and Dead & Co. draw up to 450,000 people over multiple weekends, creating gridlock in surrounding neighborhoods (Rec Park Press Release).

  • Closing off sections of the park for weeks on end prevents public access to San Francisco’s largest park. Free, community events like Hardly Strictly Bluegrass and Flower Piano show a better model of open access.

  • Park area closures and traffic impacts deter residents and visitors from accessing other parts of Golden Gate Park, even outside concert areas.

  • Increased congestion also makes it harder for emergency responders to access neighborhoods quickly, potentially increasing response times.

Impacts on small business.

  • Some businesses near Golden Gate Park benefit from the influx of concertgoers, but many others experience lose customers who avoid the area due to traffic, street closures, and crowding.

  • Local business owners expressed frustration at being left out while large corporate vendors inside the festival captured the profits. (ABC7 News report)

  • Neighborhood-serving businesses should be supported — not undermined — by public use of Golden Gate Park.

Impacts to the park.

  • Concert fencing, heavy foot traffic, and large-scale infrastructure damage open space, turf, and tree roots, requiring costly repairs and stressing the park’s ecosystem.

  • Weeks of closure prevent residents from enjoying green space while simultaneously degrading the very environment that makes Golden Gate Park special.

  • Rec & Park has a responsibility to safeguard these public lands — not rent them out at the expense of long-term environmental health.

Why We’re Speaking Out

Our parks should be safe, accessible, and sustainable for everyone. Large-scale private events put all of that at risk. That’s why Save SF Parks is calling for a hearing at the Board of Supervisors to examine the full impacts before more concerts are approved.

Have a story about how these closures in Golden Gate Park have impacted you? Share it with us at SAVESFPARKS@sonic.net. Your voice helps us show city leaders why our parks must remain open and accessible to all.