2020 District 7 City Council Questionnaire: Monty A. McIntyre

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 1 for residents and families?

1. Maintain bike lanes so they are free of potholes, ruts or significant cracks.
2. Coordinate restriping when streets are resurfaced.
3. Support the continuing construction of proposed bike lanes.

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be re striped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

We need to make the project approval process more predictable, faster and customer-friendly.
We will need to find new revenue sources to build-out the bicycle network.

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

We need to creatively look for ways to incentivize people to move to neighborhoods where they can work, work at home, or work at a place close to their home that they can bike to.

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

We need to educate our citizens about the benefits of bike lanes and using bikes for transportation as an alternative to cars. Also, we need to make the project approval process more predictable, faster and customer-friendly, while ensuring all impacted residents have an opportunity to be heard.

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

When I was in college, a firefighter friend named Ken, who rode his bike to work every day, suggested that we go on a bike ride from where I lived near Avocado Boulevard in La Mesa to Auga Caliente Hot Springs. Thinking I was in great shape because I exercised and ran regularly, I agreed. I rode my bike a little to get ready, but not regularly like Ken did. I had no idea, however, what I was getting myself into!
One weekend morning we made the ride. We rode from La Mesa up to Julian. There were many times going up the mountain to Julian that I had to stop and rest. I wondered if I would ever make it. I hung in there, Ken was patient with me, and we ultimately made it to Julian. We then rode full speed down Banner Grade to get to Auga Caliente Hot Springs. That was a blast! I don’t think I’ve ever gone so fast on a bike! By the time we made it to Auga Caliente Hot Springs I was exhausted. We enjoyed camping there for the weekend, but we decided to put our bikes in the truck and enjoy the drive home when we returned to San Diego!