In 1974, Proposition N was proposed to attempt to resolve concerns regarding traffic in Coronado. The plan was to build another highway along the northern and eastern shore of Coronado Island, to bypass the busy residential and commercial districts and provide easy access to the North Island Naval Air Station from the western end of the bridge. The proposition asked voters whether the City Council should "actively pursue" the matter. Previous proposals had included widening Fourth Street to be able to handle traffic in both directions. Critics contended that the highway would block the view of the San Diego Bay. Coronado Mayor Rolland McNelly opposed the proposal in early November 1974 as it would require approval from over 30 government agencies and would force the city to continue with it, although some declared the road "impossible to build." The voters rejected this plan, and the City Council then voted to keep traffic along Third and Fourth streets, closing the gate at First and Second streets. The bridge and the resulting traffic continued to be a hotly debated issue in the early 1980s. A plan in 1981 to convert Fourth Street into an expressway leading to the naval station was strongly opposed by the public due to the required demolition of structures and a lack of evidence that the plan would succeed in reducing traffic; by this time, Third and Fourth streets had been converted into one-way streets between the bridge and the naval station.
