Supervisor Carmen Chu quizzed Mayor Ed Lee Tuesday about the City’s long-term plans to manage Ocean Beach sand, which this spring  has covered the Great Highway and nearby streets.

While Ocean Beach and adjacent neighborhoods experience sustained strong winds every spring, and those winds always carry sand inland from the beach, this spring’s winds blew more sand onto the Great Highway and beach parking lots than in recent years. The City even had to temporarily stop its annual sand-clearing project when strong winds blew sand back onto parts of the Great Highway that had been cleared just days before.

As part of the mayor’s regular monthly appearance for questions from supervisors at “Question Time,” the District 4 supervisor asked Lee to explain what the City is doing to work out a sand-management agreement with agencies including the National Park Service, which oversees the beach and the promenade north of Lincoln Boulevard.

Here’s the complete text of  the question from Chu, whose District 4 includes the outer Sunset District: “Our last question to you covered the topic of your commitment to the goals of the Ocean Beach Master Plan. A frequent problem in our district is the encroaching sand dunes onto the Great Highway. This past year was particularly problematic, necessitating more than 65 non-scheduled closures of the Great Highway, many for multiple days. While the Department of Public Works has just completed their annual sand maintenance project, more needs to be done to manage the sand both near and long term. One of the near term goals of the Ocean Beach Master Plan is to work with the National Park Service on sand management and relocation. Can you provide an update on the status of the agreement with the NPS and other related agencies and comment on plans for long term sand management?”