The Lands End parking lot near the USS San Francisco Memorial, including this new viewing area, is expected to reopen as soon as this week. Photo: Kristine Mendoza/Ocean Beach Bulletin

Visitors to Lands End may not have to wait much longer for the opening of the new parking lot and overlook at the USS San Francisco Memorial parking area. According to Jennifer Green at the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the lot may open as early as Thursday or Friday.

The area has received a major facelift. The parking lot will have the same amount of parking spaces as the old lot, but the potholes and loose gravel are smoothed over — and a variety of local plants have been installed within the medians as well as the surrounding areas.

“The vegetation will improve the big issue the area has had with previous surface drainage,” said Green.

Other improvements include a wide set of stairs that lead from the parking lot to a newly constructed viewing area where visitors can sit and soak up views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin Headlands — and, on a clear day, the Farallon Islands.

“It was an unattractive place in relation to what you could see from it,” said Amy Meyer, co-chair of People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

According to Meyer, the GGNRA has been working closely with the nonprofit Parks Conservancy on the beautification and the overall safety improvements of the area. She credits the late Richard Goldman and his efforts to not only make a difference in the aesthetic of the path and surrounding areas, but also in the accessibility that now exists. Funding for the project came from donations made by the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, as well as Parks Conservancy members.

Meyer also credits the community for the revitalization of the Ocean Beach area and the parks that line its shore.

“It’s a model for public involvement,” explained Meyer, who is a longtime resident of the Outer Richmond. “There’s such loyalty out in this district. We love this area.”