Action Item: Send a Letter to ask the City of San Diego to include Active Transportation Priorities in Final FY24 Budget
Action Item: Send a Letter to ask the City of San Diego to include Active Transportation Priorities in Final FY24 Budget
The final budget for the Fiscal Year 2024 is approaching, and BikeSD is organizing a campaign to ask the City of San Diego to allocate money to both general and district-specific projects that will improve the safety of active transportation users in San Diego.
Many of the asks included below are ones that councilmembers have asked for in their budget memos already.
The first version of the final budget will be released on April 14th. Other important upcoming dates are below:
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- April 14th – First version of Mayor’s FY2024 budget released
- May 3rd – First public input budget hearing (opportunity to call in and provide support for specific projects and budget allocations)
- May 10th – Second public input budget hearing (opportunity to call in and provide support for specific projects and budget allocations)
- May 16th – Revised draft of Mayor’s FY2024 budget released
Show your support for these budget priorities by writing your own personal message to MayorToddGloria@sandiego.gov, and RWilde@sandiego.gov and please BCC: campaigns@bikesd.org. Modify this sample letter and copy/paste to your personal email app:
Honorable Mayor Gloria,
With the Fiscal Year 2024 final budget quickly approaching, we would like to request that several items from Council District budget priority memos be included in this budget. These priorities were chosen by members of the community for the ways they will improve active transportation safety for users, increase ridership, and meet Climate Action Plan goals.
Vital priorities that are highlighted across multiple councilmembers’ memos include the need for maintenance of our existing bikeways and greater physical protection for future class IV bikeways.
Increase Bikeway Maintenance ($150,000):
Potholes, poor pavement, and road debris pose a much greater threat to bicyclists than drivers. These hazards can seriously injure or kill bicyclists, while posing minimal risks to drivers. Transportation should dedicate a specific team of three staff members or contractors to conduct routine bikeway maintenance and respond to requests for service on bikeways. These staff members could be reassigned from existing staff, hired as contractors, or hired as new employees, depending on the city’s needs.
Install Physical Protection for All New Full-build Class IV Bikeways ($300,000 – $1.2 Million):
Almost all recent Class IV bikeway projects in San Diego have used flexible bollards to separate bikeways from travel lanes. While flexible bollards are useful for demarcating space for bicyclists, they do not have any stopping power to prevent drivers from hitting bicyclists. All new full-build Class IV bikeways should use physical protection such as concrete curbs or inflexible bollards to separate bikeways from traffic lanes. This item would require increasing the Transportation Department’s budget for each new Class IV bikeway.
As the city currently spends approximately $200,000 per mile when implementing Class IV bikeways during resurfacing, this budget request would require $50,000 to $200,000 in additional funding per mile, depending on the type of physical protection implemented. The funding needed for this request would depend on the miles of Class IV bikeway planned for FY 2024. Based on the 5.6 miles of Class IV bikeway that Transportation has planned for FY 2023, total cost would be approximately $300,000 – $1.2 Million.
Along with these items, we ask that you also strongly consider the following district specific items that were mentioned in the budget memo.
District 1
Complete Pacific Beach Pathways Phase 3
Including the connection at Olney Street to the Campland entrance, the Cass Street component between Tourmaline Street and Pacific Beach Drive, and connection at Diamond, Fanuel and Reed Streets.
District 2
Construction of Morena Blvd Class IV Bikeways
The Transportation Department is scheduled to construct bikeways on Morena Boulevard in conjunction with a pipeline replacement within the next several years. This is the most direct connection between neighborhoods South of Interstate 8 and the Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and University City communities, and as such, is an extremely popular route for cyclists despite the total lack of safe bicycle facilities. I urge the city to expedite this project as much as possible, as it has already been approved for Class IV cycle tracks within the Balboa Station Area Specific Plan and the Morena Corridor Specific Plan.
District 3
Complete Remaining Segments of Downtown Mobility Plan Bikeway Network
Six years after the completion of San Diego’s 2016 Downtown Mobility Plan, significant sections of the proposed bikeway network remain incomplete. To unlock the enormous bicycle transportation potential of Downtown San Diego, the city should expedite the remaining uncompleted bike network segments, including Grape Street, Hawthorne Street, State Street, Park Boulevard, C Street, (between 6th Ave and Park Blvd), and Broadway. Filling these remaining gaps in the Downtown network would fulfill the vision of the Downtown Mobility Plan and allow cyclists to access most major destinations in Downtown San Diego in a separated bikeway facility.
Camino Del Rio South, from Mission Center Rd. to Montezuma Rd Bikes Facilities
This is a key connection that cyclists traveling through Mission Valley use to connect to neighborhoods South of Interstate 8. Crucially, it is the only Mission Valley access point to the SR-15 Commuter Bikeway, which is currently the only fully separated bike path connecting Mission Valley and Normal/City Heights. It is also a very dangerous road; on September 14, 2021, Matt Keenan was killed on this stretch of road while riding his bike. The city should consider implementing a Class IV bikeway or rapidly developing an alternative East/West route through Mission Valley.
District 4
Euclid Ave/54th St. Complete Streets Improvements, from East Division St. to 54th St.
National City recently installed a buffered and parking-protected bike lane on the section of Euclid Avenue within its city limits. The City should continue this separated bikeway on the remainder of Euclid Avenue and its continuation onto 54th Street to provide a safe and continuous bike facility along the full length of this corridor.
District 5
Add physical protection to Camino del Norte
This 50 mile per hour road stretches three lanes across on each side, and currently only a line of paint separates bicycle users from this fast-moving traffic. Schools, residences, restaurants, and places of employment are connected by this road, and bike users would benefit greatly from the physical protection that class IV lanes would provide.
District 6
Nobel Drive
Nobel Drive serves as the major thoroughfare that cuts through University City. From west to east, it is lined by shops, homes, hotels, parks, and businesses. In the future, class IV protected bike lanes can connect to a protected bikeway on Genesee Avenue, providing a safe and comfortable path between University City and Clairemont. There are already plans to add protected bike lanes on Nobel Drive between Lebon and Genesee – this would complete the corridor throughout.
District 7
Build ten miles of critically needed safe bikeways during resurfacing, based on collision history and where potential ridership is the largest, including along Mission Gorge Rd, between Friars Rd and Alvarado Canyon Road.
District 8
Palm Avenue Revitalization Plan
The Palm Avenue Revitalization Plan includes strategies to promote economic development and improve vehicle, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle mobility along Palm Avenue between 13th Street and Hollister Street.
District 9
Add Physical Protection on Montezuma Road Bike Lanes, from the Fairmount Bike
Path to College Avenue
This is a key connection from the popular Fairmount Bike Path to SDSU that is used by many students. Particularly in the uphill (Eastbound) direction, physical protection should be added to separate the bike lane from the traffic lanes, where vehicular speeds regularly reach up to 60 mph.
We thank you for your commitment to active transportation, and for demonstrating your commitment to supporting safe streets and sustainable communities by allocating City resources to these projects.
Sincerely,
_____________
City moving forward with protected bike lanes along Park Boulevard in Balboa Park
In early September, after months of extensive outreach, the City announced plans for protected bike lanes and separated bus lanes throughout most of Park Boulevard within Balboa Park. This is a massive win for active transportation within the City's Crown Jewel; thank you so much to everyone who called into the planning meetings to voice your support for bikes and buses within the park! The new bike lanes will connect to the lanes along Park Boulevard north of Balboa Park and to the protected lanes south of the park, and the 7 and 215 bus lines will have a dedicated bus lane; the city chose to preserve parking in front of cultural institutions that needed the parking, in lieu of completely dedicated bus lanes. The repaving and restriping should be complete in early 2023; the City's plans originally stated that they would be complete by December 2022.
To see the City's complete work orders for Park Boulevard, click here. To read KPBS reporter Andrew Bowen's excellent reporting on Park Boulevard, click here.
If you'd like to receive updates on the future of Park Boulevard, and other restriping and repaving efforts within Balboa Park and San Diego, sign up for our newsletter!
Gears & Cheers 2022 ⚙️🍻
Thank you to everyone who supported, donated, sponsored, and attended our first inaugural Gears & Cheers, held at Pretzels and Pints (3812 Ray Street) on October 27th, 2022! We drank beer, ate pretzels, celebrated BikeSD's advocacy, AND raised $10,000 to continue the fight for safer streets in San Diego!
Our 2022 Awardees
- BIKES MEAN BUSINESS: Rad Power Bikes
- MOBILITY AWARD: The City of San Diego, for Park Boulevard, with special recognition to Councilmember Stephen Whitburn and Mayor Todd Gloria
- ADVOCATE AWARD: Laura Keenan
And a huge thank you from us, the BikeSD board! Special thanks to Taylor Vierra, our event organizer; the Tres Amigos, our live music for the evening; Mark West, our lovely emcee; every single one of our sponsors; and Pretzels & Pints for being such a great venue. And finally, thank you to everyone who came out, attended in spirit, and everyone who continues to support us.
Action Item: Send a Letter to ask the City of San Diego to Implement a Protected Bicycle Facility along Park Blvd in Balboa Park
Action Item: Send a Letter to ask the City of San Diego to Complete the Corridor; Implement a Protected Bicycle Facility along Park Blvd in Balboa Park
UPDATE, JANUARY 30, 2023: In early September, after months of extensive outreach, the City announced plans for protected bike lanes and separated bus lanes throughout most of Park Boulevard within Balboa Park. This is a massive win for active transportation within the City’s Crown Jewel; thank you so much to everyone who called into the planning meetings to voice your support for bikes and buses within the park! These lanes should be completed in early 2023. If you have additional questions, please contact us at talk@bikesd.org, and consider the Action Item below completed.
Since June 2021, BikeSD has been discussing with the city the opportunity to have a fully protected Class IV bicycle facility along the entire Park Boulevard corridor.
In Downtown, the city has recently implemented part of the Park Blvd section of the Downtown Mobility Plan, with the remaining segments of the class IV cycletrack already planned from K St to the I-5 bridge. From Village Place to Robinson Ave, SANDAG’s Uptown Segment 5: Park Blvd Bikeway is in the pipeline to provide improvements. And just last week, KPBS spoke with BikeSD board member Ari Criste to report on the city’s new plans to implement protected bike lanes on Park Blvd from Adams Ave to University Ave.
The last big stretch in Balboa Park is still up in the air. In November 2021, our campaign got the support of Uptown Planners, who wrote a letter in support of a class IV protected bikeway on Park Blvd in Balboa Park. The city has drafted plans for micromobility improvements to the corridor, but has not yet shared them to any community groups. We need your help to encourage the city to implement a fully-protected facility as part of the upcoming pipeline and street resurfacing project along Park Blvd in Balboa Park.
EVEN BETTER:
Write your own personal message to MayorToddGloria@sandiego.gov, StephenWhitburn@sandiego.gov, and jriveros@sandiego.gov, and please BCC: campaigns@bikesd.org. Modify this sample letter and copy/paste to your personal email app:
Dear Mayor Gloria, Councilmember Whitburn, and Transportation Director Riveros,
Thank you for the planned improvements for Park Blvd between University Ave and Adams Ave. My family and I appreciate using low-stress bike facilities to get around for our daily transportation needs.
In addition to the section of Park Blvd from University Ave to Adams Ave, we ask that the Balboa Park segment of Park Boulevard’s resurfacing efforts include a new Class IV (protected) bikeway. Park Blvd is a critical corridor between Uptown and Downtown – we are currently seeing a large volume of self-reported bicyclists using this path on a regular basis, according to open source heat maps such as Strava and Ride With GPS. Currently, micromobility users are expected to share this 2-lane roadway with parked vehicles and those driving 40+ MPH. Ideally, this road would be reduced to a single general-purpose lane traveling in either direction, a transit lane, and a protected bike facility.
Similar improvements have already been scoped out in the 2012 Bicycle Master Plan, which proposed building out a Class II (i.e. painted bike lanes) bikeway along the entirety of Park Blvd from Upas St to B St. The Balboa Park Master Plan also prescribes a bicycle trail along Park Blvd, and while a Class II bike lane would be a step in the right direction, pivoting to a Class IV protected bike lane would provide safer and more accessible infrastructure for all ages and abilities and align better with NACTO guidelines. Similar to how building more highway lanes induces greater vehicular traffic demand, building safer bicycle infrastructure induces greater bicycle traffic demand.
Besides inducing greater demand for bicyclists, safe bicycle infrastructure reduces carbon emissions within the park, slows down vehicular traffic, and improves pedestrian safety. Encouraging an increase in bicycle trips between significant commercial and residential cores (Uptown, North Park, and Downtown), as well as the numerous educational and cultural institutions along the corridor gets San Diego closer to its Climate Action Plan (CAP) goals of hitting Net Zero emissions by 2035. This upgrade is also in alignment with the 2021 Parks Master Plan which aims, among other things, to provide easy access to parks by walking, biking, and transit. Finally, by reducing speeds and protecting non-vehicle users, these improvements support the city’s Vision Zero goals.
Sincerely,
_____________
Call to Action: Let’s Push Key Regional Bikeways Across the Finish Line! Friday 09/24 @ 9AM.
Call to Action: Let’s Push Key Regional Bikeways Across the Finish Line!
WHAT: The SANDAG Board of Directors will consider a budget amendment to accept state and federal grant funding to complete the Howard, University, and Orange Bikeways, and a section of the Inland Rail Trail. These Bikeways are part of the Regional Bike Plan Early Action Program—a proposed network of 77 miles of high-quality bikeways adopted in 2013.
BikeSD and our partner organizations need you to show the Board you support bike infrastructure! Please call into the meeting urging SANDAG to approve this budget amendment, to continue making progress on a world-class network of bike lanes.
WHEN: Friday, 9/24 @ 9:00 (virtual)
HOW:
- Attend the zoom meeting, here: https://zoom.us/j/92375925148
- Detailed instructions on the agenda, here.
- Click the ‘raise hand’ function when item 13 is called.
RECOMMENDED TALKING POINTS (Choose a few, or make them your own! Comments will likely be limited to 2 minutes.)
- Hi, my name is [NAME] with [ORGANIZATION - optional], calling in SUPPORT of today’s action to fund bikeways on Howard, University, and Orange, and the Inland Rail Trail.
- Thank you to SANDAG staff and Board for working hard to make significant progress on the Regional Bike Plan Early Action Program (EAP).
- It is clear that this funding is urgently needed. Eight years into this program, less than 14 of the 77 proposed miles are open to the public.
- However, the Bike Early Action Program needs change:
- Process Improvements: EAP projects should not take 10 years to complete. We urge you to identify ways to expedite the process of bike project delivery, and keep costs contained.
- Prioritization: Prioritize future investments in bike infrastructure in historically underinvested Communities of Concern, with the least access to safe and sustainable transportation choices.
- Expand the Network: Complete the planned EAP network as soon as possible, and then commit to expanding the network to ensure the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan 2035 mode shift target for biking is achieved.
- I SUPPORT this budget amendment because (pick your favorite(s)):
- Vision Zero: Cyclists’ deaths are tragic and avoidable. A safe network of bike lanes is essential to saving lives.
- Transportation Justice: Communities of color and low-income communities have the least access to safe and sustainable mobility options.
- Climate Action: Transportation accounts for more greenhouse gas emissions than any other sector by far. To stop the climate crisis, we must get people out of their fossil fuel cars and into sustainable modes of travel, ASAP.
- Clean Air: San Diego is home to some of the most polluted neighborhoods in the state, largely due to cars and trucks. To secure cleaner air, especially for environmental justice communities, we need safe, protected infrastructure so more people can choose to go by bike.
- Access to Jobs: San Diegans should not have to rely on a car to move around the region and access their daily needs. We need a bike network with better access to the region’s job centers.
- Thank you for prioritizing safe bike lanes.