SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- San Francisco’s newest park, Sunset Dunes, may have arrived with controversy, but it is also experiencing a “boom in visits,” the SF Recreation and Parks Department said ahead of its formal grand opening on Saturday. The department boasted on Thursday that the 50-acre park at the former site of the Upper Great Highway has seen a 25 percent increase in weekend visits over typical numbers set during the two-year pilot program. During the pilot program, the Upper Great Highway was closed to all motor vehicle traffic over weekends. An average of 3,400 people have visited the park on weekdays since March 24, SFRPD said. During a recent stretch of heat in the city, those numbers reportedly climbed even higher. Massive statue of giant naked woman officially unveiled at SF Embarcadero “The park recorded 4,700 and 4,200 visits on March 23 and 24, respectively,” the department said. “On March 29, visits surged to 5,700, and on April 5 and 6, they reached approximately 5,800 and 6,100—far surpassing historical weekend traffic.” The first two weekends of February, by comparison, saw approximately 4,000 visitors per day, park officials said. “With new play spaces, seating, and public art, more visitors are finding their way to the park for morning runs, afternoon bike rides, and evening walks with friends and family,” the department said. “It is the third most visited park in San Francisco after Golden Gate Park and the Marina Green.” A grand opening community ceremony for Sunset Dunes is scheduled to take place on Saturday, April 12, between 11:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Noriega Street. ...read more read less