Let's Pluck Some Low Hanging Fruit on Kearny Villa Road and 33rd Street: Ask for Better Bike Facilities
San Diego's Department of Transportation has embarked on a project to coordinate with the city’s fast moving overlay and slurry seal program to implement bike facilities by either enhancing the existing facilities or implementing them where they don't exist per the city's Bicycle Master Plan. Brian Genovese referred to this initiative as low hanging fruit because implementing this striping would take no additional effort or money but impart a tremendous benefit to the community.
Two roads that have been resurfaced and are awaiting striping are Kearny Villa Road in Councilmember Lorie Zapf's District and 33rd Street in Council President Todd Gloria's District. This is a perfect opportunity to enhance any existing bicycle facility or implement one where it doesn't currently exist.
Kearny Villa Road
As a major north/south connector, Kearny Villa Road needs lots of improvements. Our supporters who submitted comments to our collaborative vision map wants the entire road to be made safe especially the I-15/SR-163 interchange which needs to be redesigned to be safer for all users. This street has been home to some passive aggressive paving work in the past and the bike lane on Kearny Villa Road was finally repaved to decent standards about two and a half years ago. It was the first road to receive (some somewhat random) green paint work.
However, Kearny Villa Road has been resurfaced again and there is an opportunity to improve it even more. Reader Dave Abeln sent in an email stating the following:
Good news - The city has resurfaced much of Kearny Villa Road between the 52 and Miramar Road, on both the northbound and southbound sides.
Bad News - The temporary lane markers, which ultimately guide the laying of new stripes, leaves the bike lanes too narrow. Many sections are significantly narrower than prior to resurfacing.This major north-south cycling corridor has sufficient pavement to provide well defined and sufficiently wide bicycle paths. It's simply a matter of proper execution.
Please work with your city street department contacts to address this concern, now, before the new lanes are painted.
Please call Councilmember Zapf's office at (619) 236-6616 and ask that her office works with City staff to make Kearny Villa Road better than it currently is.
33rd Street
Rosemary Bystrak sent in the following:
33rd just got paved from Howard to Monroe, and Meade is on it's way. Turn up the heat to get bike lanes/tracks/sharrows before the striping! I'll be calling Dion Aker at Todd Gloria's office tomorrow. Maybe he can help?
For the residents who live along 33rd street, we're sure they'd prefer to not have drivers treating their neighborhood street like a racetrack - so an opportunity to narrow the existing travel lane exists right now. We think a bike lane with a painted buffer would a pretty nice feature.
Please call Council President Gloria's office at (619) 236-6633 and ask that his office work with City Staff to make 33rd Street more bike friendly while there is an opportunity.
Progress on North Park - Mid City Bike Corridors Project
Over sixty community members were in attendance at last Wednesday’s North Park - Mid City Bike Corridors Project Community Advisory Group meeting at Sunset Temple. Project manager Bridget Enderle kicked things off by thanking everyone for coming out and participating. Enderle pointed out that the number of people attending this series of meetings was an indicator of the recent increase in support of cycling infrastructure in the community.
After introductions, Enderle outlined goals of the project and stated that the biggest concern is safety and the creation of streets where people will feel comfortable riding a bike. She added that SANDAG intends to construct three parallel corridors using innovative solutions to facilitate cycling for everyday trips, but stressed that these “vibrant livable streets” should be places for everyone and serve as an asset to the whole community, including non-cyclists.
This being the second Community Advisory Group meeting to address the North Park - Mid City Project, updated project goals were also outlined. These included the implementation of complete streets, traffic calming and end-of-trip facilities, as well as providing direct access to schools, transit, community destinations and commercial centers.
Hired consultant Matt Benjamin of Fehr & Peers was then introduced. Benjamin discussed the progress achieved in site visits of the study corridors from the preliminary alignments. Next, the community members were split into smaller groups to discuss specific sections of the proposed corridor alignments. These included Meade Ave, Howard Ave/Orange Ave and Landis St/Wightman St, all outlined in red to show proposed routes. Noticeably absent were most of University Avenue and all of Adams Avenue - two main east/west thoroughfares. The presentation shown at the meeting is available at SANDAG's Keep San Diego Moving website.
Group members were asked to give opinions on the preliminary alignments. While some offered opinions of certain routes such as Orange Ave versus Polk Ave, others suggested different routes altogether. After mapping out preferred alignments, the smaller teams were given the opportunity to present their findings to the whole group. Many interesting designs were suggested, but the overwhelming consensus was the importance of constructing cycle tracks on El Cajon Blvd.
BikeSD certainly supports any efforts toward creating a more bike-friendly San Diego and we recognize the immense opportunity of SANDAG’s Bike Corridor Projects and the nearly $2 million budget for planning and preliminary design. While neighborhood greenways are nice for a peaceful ride, we feel that in order to take full advantage of the TransNet half-cent sales tax funding and achieve the outlined goals of the project, the installation of protected bike lanes along El Cajon Blvd is the most viable option. In order to give all community members safe, convenient, direct access to the places they work, live, shop and play, pushing bikes onto side streets where they must navigate through confusing twists and turns does not make sense. As community member Hans Wangbichler stated, the bike corridor “should take people to where there is actually something.”
The next meeting will take place in May and will consist of a community workshop to address alignment and design alternatives. Let’s hope to see a big red line on the map outlining El Cajon Blvd.
Correction, March 12, 2013: This post originally stated that Matt Benjamin works as a consultant for Alta Planning + Design. He works for Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants. This post also stated that El Cajon Blvd and University Ave were not highlighted in red. El Cajon Blvd was highlighted as an alternative to Mead Ave on one of the maps and a small portion of the eastern end of University Ave was highlighted as an alternative to the Howard Ave/Orange Ave corridor.
En Español: Progreso en el Proyecto de Corredores de North Park - Mid City
Más de sesenta miembros de la comunidad asistieron a la junta del Grupo Consultivo Comunitario sobre el Proyecto de Corredores Ciclistas de North Park - Mid City el miercoles pasado en Sunset Temple. La Directora del proyecto, Bridget Enderle, comenzó por agradecer a todos por venir y participar. Enderle señaló que el número de personas que habían asistido a esta serie de juntas es indicador del aumento del apoyo de infraestructura del ciclismo dentro de la comunidad.
Después de la introducción, Enderle identificó las metas del proyecto y afirmó que la preocupación más grande es la seguridad y la creación de calles dónde la gente se sienta cómoda para andar en bicicleta. Agregó que SANDAG planea construir tres corredores paralelos utilizando soluciones innovadoras para facilitar el ciclismo en viajes cotidianos, pero insistió en que estas “calles habitables vibrantes” deben ser lugares para todos y deben servir como recurso para la comunidad entera, incluso los no-ciclistas.
Siendo la segunda junta del Grupo Consultivo Comunitario que aborda los Proyectos de Corredores Ciclistas de North Park - Mid City, se resumieron las metas actualizadas del proyecto también. Estas incluían la implementación de calles completas, pacificación del tráfico e instalaciones para el fin del viaje, además de la provisión de acceso directo a escuelas, tránsito, destinos comunitarios y centros comerciales.
Entonces presentaron al consultor contratado, Matt Benjamin de Fehr & Peers. Benjamin habló sobre el progreso logrado en visitas a los sitios de los corredores y el estudio de los alineamientos preliminares. Luego, los miembros de la comunidad se dividieron en grupos más pequeños para hablar sobre secciones específicas de los alineamientos propuestos para el corredor. Estos incluyen Mead Ave, Howard Ave/Orange Ave y Landis St/Wightman St, todos resaltados en rojo para indicar las rutas propuestas. Notablemente ausente fue la mayoría de University Ave, y todo Adams Ave - dos rutas principales de este a oeste. La presentación que se mostró en la junta está disponible en la página web de SANDAG Keep San Diego Moving.
Se pidió que los miembros del grupo compartieran sus opiniones sobre los alineamientos preliminares. Mientras algunos ofrecieron sus opiniones sobre ciertas rutas como Orange Ave versus Polk Ave, otros sugirieron rutas totalmente diferentes. Después de indicar los alineamientos preferidos, se dio la oportunidad a los grupos pequeños de presentar sus conclusiones al grupo entero. Se sugirieron muchos diseños interesantes, pero la opinión general fue la importancia de la construcción de bicicarriles en El Cajon Blvd.
BikeSD definitivamente apoya cualquier esfuerzo hacia la creación de un San Diego más apto para el ciclismo y reconocemos la inmensa oportunidad de los Proyectos de Corredores Ciclistas de SANDAG y el presupuesto de casi $2 millones de dólares para el planeamiento y el diseño preliminar. Mientras las vías verdes que atraviesan los barrios son buenas para una vuelta pacífica, nosotros sentimos que para aprovechar el impuesto TransNet de medio centavo sobre las ventas y lograr las metas indicadas del proyecto, la instalación de carriles protegidos para bicicletas es la opción más viable. Para proporcionar a todos los miembros de la comunidad acceso seguro, conveniente y directo a los lugares en donde trabajan, viven, compran y juegan, empujar las bicis a las calles laterales dónde tienen que navegar altibajos no tiene sentido. Un miembro de la comunidad, Hans Wangbichler afirmó que el corredor ciclista “debe llevar a la gente adonde realmente haya algo.”
La próxima junta tendrá lugar en mayo y consistirá en un taller comunitario para abordar el alineamiento y los diseños. Esperemos ver un mapa con El Cajon Blvd resaltado en rojo.
Corección, 12 marzo, 2013: Esta publicación originalmente decía que Matt Benjamin trabaja como consultor para Alta Planning + Design. Él trabaja para Fehr & Peers Transportation Consultants. Esta publicación también decía que El Cajon Blvd y University Ave no fueron resaltadas en rojo. El Cajon Blvd fue resaltada como alternativa a Mead Ave en uno de los mapas y una porción pequeña del lado este de University Ave fue resaltada como alternativa al corredor Howard Ave/Orange Ave.
City Council Unanimously Passes Resolution Prioritizing Bicycle Infrastructure Improvements in the City of San Diego to Enhance Public Safety
By now you may have heard the news from last Tueday about the unanimous City Council vote on the Resolution prioritizing bicycle infrastructure improvements to enhance public safety that got some excellent coverage on Fox 5. The Fox 5 coverage included an accurate visual depiction of how our riders have to play a dangerous game of frogger in order to navigate the various freeway ramps that litter our city.
First, a thank you. We want to thank Councilmember Lorie Zapf for rising up and pushing the issue. We reached out to her after David Ortiz died in her District last year. We encourage you to contact Councilmember Zapf and the other Councilmembers (Alvarez, Gloria, Kersey, Lightner, Sherman), who voted on this resolution to thank them as well. Councilmembers Kevin Faulconer and Marti Emerald were not present last Tuesday.
After our first meeting with Councilmember Zapf's staff, we presented the case on why the I-805 and I-5 ramps on Balboa Avenue (and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard) needed to be redesigned. Councilmember Zapf, as chair of the Land Use & Housing Subcommittee agreed to prepare a resolution addressing our concerns. The original draft (.doc) that was sent to the City Attorney for review contained this paragraph which was then removed prior to being voted upon at the Land Use & Housing subcommittee and then later at the full City Council meeting.
WHEREAS, our San Diego community has experienced too many instances of bicycle related collisions in the public right-of-way. In high risk conflict areas for cyclists, such as the heavily traveled I-805 and I-5 freeway interchanges, the City should utilize all methods for increased safety such as shared lane markings known as “sharrows” on narrow roadways without bike lanes, innovative pavement markings such as bright color bike lanes for better visibility by motorists, and to maintain pavement surfaces to acceptable conditions, AND
Without this specificity included, we felt that the resolution didn't really have anything tying the resolution to actual change or project implementation. Our main concern that we raised in January was the deadly design of the freeway on/off ramps along Balboa Avenue and Clairemont Mesa Boulevard - language that was struck out by the City Attorney's office. The resolution that was voted upon last Tuesday did have some good language which indicated that Councilmember Zapf and her staff was paying attention to what we write about here especially as part of our "Foto Friday" series, but the resolution by and large missed the point we were trying to raise about the freeway ramps.
However, we do realize that we are fortunate to have a very supportive and encouraging City Council championing our mission to create a livable San Diego while supporting our goals to implement world-class bicycle infrastructure in order to make our vision a reality. While elected officials elsewhere make asinine statements about bicycling and then backpedal when cornered, we're lucky to have elected representatives who apparently were just waiting to be asked to support our mission.
While the resolution was being discussed, Councilmember Alvarez pointed out out that a Capital Improvement Programs with up to $40 million in funding could be applied to some bicycle projects around the city. He asked that Ed Clancy, the City's new Programs Manager for Bicycle Initiatives to get some projects implemented quickly. Clancy stated that he'd been meeting with us and other transportation and built environment advocacy groups on this issue in order to do just that. Councilmember Alvarez also restated his desire to see some national experts come down to San Diego and see through some actual projects built. The archived transcript and video of last Tuesday's Council session is available at the City of San Diego's website for your perusal.
Council President Todd Gloria ended the discussion item by stating the following offering some perspective (edited from the transcript for readability):
The last time you came, we asked for you to keep coming back. This is how you will make forward progress. I want to thank you Ms. Zapf for her leadership on this issue. The fact that city council is discussing this is change. When I first got on the Council over four years ago, there weren't too many members on the council talking about biking. Ms. Zapf I appreciate your interest in this issue. With regard to the concerns about whether or not we are making forward progress, I think I may see a bit of perspective. I recognize the frustration.
This isn't about a nice weekend jaunt for most of you. This is your means of commuting and your means of commuting is not safe. I understand exactly where the comments are coming from. That said, in my first term, there were no sharrows in the city of San Diego. We got over that hoop and now there are hundreds across the city. We had no bike corrals almost a year ago and now we have four. They're all in my district. You need a couple in yours. They are worth getting. We have a bike sharing program that's on deck and we'll start, I believe, this summer. The mayor has championed Ciclovia or CicloSDias as he likes to call it. And I believe that's on deck for later this year. Additionally, probably most importantly, is that we are having the conversation and moving forward with a number of regional bike projects. Two, particularly in my district. One of the uptown area and the other in the north park city area. And as Ms. Zapf mentioned, that's going to be difficult stuff but I'm there with you. I'm willing to consider road diets. I'm willing to eliminate parking to make space for bikes. We're willing to do that difficult work but you can't just be on twitter, you can't just be on facebook and you can't just yell at people who are supportive of you. You need to be at those community meetings advocating for bikes. Because I promise you the other side will be there as well.
So let's keep the focus on where we're at. A lot has happened. It may not feel that way especially when your livelihood and safety is at stake. You have a mayor who is outspokenly in favor of biking and I appreciate that the mayor's leadership on this has been remarkable.
You have a Council who through this vote just will signal its support and to Mr. Alvarez's point the question is less about what more funds we can put in for bike infrastructure but the funds that are going to road repairs and making sure whatever roads are capable of handling a bike lane actually receive a bike lane when it is paved. And that's something that I think is incumbent upon Mr. Clancy and his role to look at those lists and figure out where that's done. It's not additional money, it's just a can of paint down the street to provide that safety. It can be just that simple.
I think this is the council, all of you already know is passionate about infrastructure, biking is part of our neighborhood infrastructure. We're making progress, you've seen it with sharrows and bike corrals. You're gonna see it with bike sharing and CicloSDia, with these mobility projects in my council district and elsewhere. By the way the two in my district have a price tag of roughly $2 million just for design. So getting to Ms.Zapf point, that's not even building anything but that's money that's there. It's budgeted and it is in there and it will be there when the time comes. With this resolution today, I hope we're not just designing this stuff but we're going to build it. When the City Council for the City of San Diego weighs in what I expect will be unanimously a signal will be sent both to the mayor's office and SANDAG that there better be money for these bike projects. Once the community finishes its dialog, determine what streets it wants to paint these Class I bike lanes on and let's just get the job done. Everyone wants to see this happen and that's what this vote is about today.
Randy Van Vleck of the City Heights Community Development Corporation asked Brian Genovese of the City's new Multi-Modal Division what this resolution symbolized and he responded,
The resolution is symbolic in the sense that it commits the City to emphasize the need for bicycle infrastructure. The gesture is important because it creates awareness and a commitment by council to back the Mayor’s agenda. TEO is already taking steps at implementation through re-striping efforts in conjunction with the overlay program (low hanging fruit).
The Case for Protected Bike Lanes (aka Cycle Tracks) on El Cajon Boulevard
As part of SANDAG's Early Action Plan (projects to be implemented within the next decade), the design of two regional bike projects scheduled to be implemented in the City of San Diego are already underway.
Given the resounding support from the first North Park-Mid-City meeting for peaceful, neighborhood greenways and efficient, connected cycletracks, we're proposing a design idea of what El Cajon Boulevard could look like if a protected bike lane (cycle track) was implemented along the entire length of El Cajon Boulevard.
The above rendering shows the protected bike lane protected by parked cars, a design that has currently been implemented with great success in Long Beach, CA.
Why should the bicycle riders be protected by parked cars? To quote Jan Gehl, a Danish architect and urban design consultant based in Copenhagen, this design allows "parked cars to protect the bicycles instead of the bicyclists protecting the parked cars." The focus should be on keeping people safe from harm. This design has been implemented elsewhere in the country and is also a part of the NACTO Urban Bikeway Design Guide - a guide we want the city to adopt so that planning for bicycle use can move away from the highway design manuals that is currently in effect and instead use guidelines specific to bicycle usage.
The SANDAG Early Action Project has specific objectives that we believe will be met with the implementation of protected bike lanes. The objectives are:
- Implementing the Regional Bicycle Network (part of the Regional Bicycle Plan): Implementing the network will add life to the street, will transform El Cajon Boulevard to be more attractive to people who currently do not ride and will accommodate the future transit project.
- Street Parking Remains - This will grow business by bringing more people to the Boulevard rather than moving auto traffic through the neighborhood.
As for neighborhood greenways where through vehicle traffic is discouraged? We don't see our proposal as being an either/or proposition. We proposed both protected bike lanes on El Cajon Boulevard, and neighborhood greenways (bicycle boulevards) along parallel streets like Howard Avenue or Meade Avenue. People who want to get places need multiple options. Just like San Diegans currently have a choice in driving on the I-8, SR-94 or on University Avenue and El Cajon Boulevard to traverse the east/west corridors, bicycle riders also should be offered the ability and option to get to their destinations along routes designed with them in mind. Forcing riders to contend with high speed traffic or relegating them to dimly lit residential streets is not the way forward, not the way to make San Diego a world-class bicycling city.
Don't forget to attend tonight's Mid-City/North Park Community Advisory Group Meeting. Details are below.
6 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Sunset Temple
3911 Kansas Street
San Diego, CA 92104
Update: It seems that some of our supporters were concerned about how the design would deal riders wanting to ride across intersections. We've been documenting some of the best treatments for intersections here as part of our "Foto Friday" series which includes the ideal, and some interim measures which include separate traffic lights to ensure all users can get through safely.
El Alcalde Filner Invita a San Diego a Participar en CicloSDias
Traducción del artículo publicado originalmente el 25 de febrero, de 2013
Artículo escrito por Bike San Diego y traducido por Tyler Bergin
La mañana del 25 de febrero, el Alcalde Bob Filner y el Presidente del Consejo Todd Gloria convocaron una conferencia de prensa para anunciar la inauguración del cuarto corral de bicicletas de la ciudad y para invitar a la ciudad a participar en CicloSDias, el primer evento de calles abiertas en San Diego que tomará lugar el 18 de agosto de 2013. En esta fecha también cae el cumpleaños del coordinador de ciclismo de nuestra ciudad, Tom Landre.
Nuestro alcalde, a diferencia del alcalde de Los Angeles, no tuvo que experimentar una herida relacionada con el ciclismo para empatizar con nuestros ciclistas que se enfrentan a una cultura arraigada en el uso de los carros. El Alcalde entiende precisamente por qué San Diego necesita aumentar sus esfuerzos para transformarse en una ciudad apta para el ciclismo y verdaderamente habitable. Sus comentarios de la conferencia de prensa esta mañana demostraron que entendió no solamente los asuntos a los que se enfrentan los ciclistas existentes, sino la naturaleza transformadora que vendrá al invitar a los residentes de nuestra ciudad a experimentar las calles libre de carros (énfasis por el alcalde):
“Esto es sólo el principio de nuestros esfuerzos en convertir nuestra ciudad en una habitable y apta para peatones y ciclistas. Esta ciudad entera... tenemos el liderazgo en el Distrito Tres con Todd Gloria pero tenemos que hacer que toda la ciudad sea apta para el ciclismo. Otra vez, esto es el primer paso. Los corrales se necesitan y son necesarios y hermosos. El programa de bicicletas compartidas que elevará esto aún más empieza en un par de meses así que estamos felices de hacer eso.”
[...]
Uno de los primeros empleados que contraté fue... yo le digo el zar de las bicis, él se llama a sí mismo el hombre de las bicis. Ed Clancy está trabajando como parte del programa de bicis de la ciudad. Y les digo, este es sólo un paso. Construir una infraestructura entera de ciclismo para esta ciudad. Saben, otras ciudades han tenido éxito como Portland. La mujer que hizo eso, Mia Birk, escribió un libro que se llama Joyride que yo he leído. La vamos a traer aquí para determinar la infraestructura ciclista para San Diego y realmente vamos a tener saltos espectaculares en esa área.”
[...]
Para [conseguir la] infraestructura ciclista para [la ciudad entera] tenemos que tomar el entusiasmo y la emoción y la dedicación que Uds., los aficionados del ciclismo, han tenido. Y han tenido dificultades enormes en sólo moverse. He ido en bici con algunos de Uds. y he visto como abren las puertas enfrente de Uds. y como desaparecen los carriles de las bicicletas sin avisar, carreteras que cruzar...es increíblemente difícil. Entonces tenemos que lograr que toda la comunidad se emocione no sólo sobre los asuntos positivos de la calidad de vida, los asuntos del ejercicio, [sino] la belleza de San Diego experimentada en bici y a pie. Así que vamos a hacer unos eventos que intentan enfatizar esa emoción.
[...]
Estamos empezando el programa CicloSDias en San Diego. Vamos a tomar rutas o secciones de la ciudad por unas horas durante el [fin de semana], cerrarlas a los carros y tener la gente caminando, andando en bicicleta, patinando y simplemente hablando.
[...]
Vamos a tener una ruta empezando en Barrio Logan a lo largo de 30th Street y llegando a Cherokee Park. [...] A excepción de los residentes que tienen que estacionarse, vamos a quitar todos los carros. Vamos a mostrar que la belleza de esta ciudad experimentada a pie y en bicicleta es increíble. Y vamos a intentar incrementar el apoyo de la comunidad para el total de la infraestructura ciclista que necesitamos para que se pueda ir por bicicleta desde cualquier punto A hasta cualquier punto B en esta ciudad. Será un tipo de ciudad increíblemente diferente cuando hayamos hecho esto.
[...]
La gente dice, bueno eres de alguna manera subversivo si andas en bicicleta que estás intentando hundir a todo el país. No, esta es una manera de desarrollarnos. Así es como podemos desarrollar nuestras comunidades: tener programas de ciclismo y caminar en toda la comunidad. Entonces, vamos a tener el programa de bicicletas compartidas, tenemos al hombre de las bicis, vamos a tener CicloSDias y vamos a tener toda una infraestructura que une toda esta ciudad desde el sur hasta el norte, desde el este hasta el oeste con ciclismo adecuado. Es excelente para nuestra psique, para nuestros cuerpos, para nuestras almas y para nuestra ciudad.
Como mencionó el Alcalde, esto es el primer paso - pero un excelente primer paso y estamos emocionados por colaborar en este esfuerzo. Para más detalles visite la página web de CicloSDias y lea otro excelente reportaje en San Diego Gay & Lesbian News.