Mayor Filner Invites San Diegans to Experience CicloSDias
This morning, Mayor Bob Filner and Council President Todd Gloria held a press conference to announce the opening of the city's fourth bike corral and to invite the city to participate in CicloSDias, San Diego's first open streets event to be held on August 18 11, 2013. This date also happens to be the birthday of our City's bike coordinator, Tom Landre.
Our mayor, unlike L.A.'s mayor, didn't have to experience a bike related injury in order to garner empathy for our current riders dealing with a car-entrenched culture. The Mayor understands precisely why San Diego needs to step up its game in transforming the entire city to a bikeable and truly livable city. His comments from this morning's press conference demonstrated that he understood not just the issues that the existing riders face but the transformative nature that will come from inviting our city's residents to experience our streets free of cars (emphasis by the mayor):
This is just the beginning of our efforts to make our city livable, walkable, bikeable.This whole city...we got leadership in District Three with Todd Gloria but we got to make this whole city bikeable. Again this is the first step. The corrals are needed and necessary and beautiful. The bike share program which will elevate this even more is starting in a few months so we're happy to do that.
[....]
One of my first hires was...I call him the bike czar, he calls himself the bike guy. Ed Clancy is working as part of the city's bike program. And I will tell you, this is just a step. Building a whole infrastructure of biking for this city. You know other cities have had success like Portland. The lady who did that, Mia Birk, wrote a book called Joyride which I've read. We're going to bring her down here to figure out the bike infrastructure for San Diego and we're going to really have quantum leaps in that area.
[...]
To [get the] bike infrastructure for [the whole city] we gotta take the enthusiasm and the excitement and the commitment that, you, the bike enthusiasts have had. And you've had enormous difficulty just in getting around. I've ridden with some of you and seen how the doors open on you and the bike lanes disappear without any warning, freeways to cross...it's incredibly difficult. So we got to get the whole community excited about not only the positive quality of life issues, the exercise issues, [but] the beauty of San Diego as experienced on foot and on bike. So we're going to have some events which try to bring out that excitement.
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We're starting the CicloSDias program in San Diego. We're going to take routes or sections of the city for a few hours during the [weekend], shut them off to cars and have people walking and biking and skateboarding and just talking.
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We're going to have a bike route starting from Barrio Logan along 30th Street and into Cherokee Park. [...] Except for those residents who have to park, we're going to clear out the cars. We're going to show the beauty of this city experienced on foot and on bike is incredible. And we're going to try to build up the community support for the whole bike infrastructure that we need so you can go from any point A to any point B in this city by bicycle. It's going to be an incredibly different kind of city when we have done this.
[...]
People say well you're somehow subversive if you ride a bicycle that you're trying to bring the whole United States down. No, this is a way to build us up. This is how to build up our communities: to have community-wide biking and walking programs. So we're going to have the bike share, we have the bike guy, we're going to have CicloSDia and we're going to have a whole infrastructure that ties together this city from South to North, from East to West with adequate biking. Its great for our psyche, its great for our bodies, its great for our souls, its great for our city.
As the Mayor mentioned, this is the first step - but an excellent first step and we're thrilled to be partners in this effort. For more details, visit the CicloSDias website and read another excellent writeup at San Diego Gay & Lesbian News.
This Monday at 10 AM: Mayor to Announce CicloSDias at Dedication of Fourth Bike Corral
District Three continues to allocate public space to people with the fourth bike corral ready for use and scheduled to be officially dedicated on Monday morning. In conjunction with the new corral being unveiled, there is an announcement that local advocates have been working on for more than three years.
Our new Mayor, Bob Filner, in his State of the City Address last month emphasized the need for linking neighborhoods in this city by making them more bikeable through design excellence:
we need to support those efforts with transportation systems that enhance our quality of life – pedestrian-friendly designs like Bird Rock’s roundabouts, dedicated bike paths linking neighborhoods, and improved options, to meet the rapidly changing needs of our residents.
We must restore urban planning as an independent and leading voice for envisioning our communities’ future.
Land use and development review functions within City government will be reorganized into a Department of Healthy, Safe, and Livable Neighborhoods. This Department will focus on accelerating completion of our community plans; putting proper emphasis on transit-oriented development, walkability and bikeability; economic development; energy sustainability; affordable housing; and elevating our expectations for design excellence in new development.
The big announcement? San Diego will finally (finally!) be opening up her streets to be used by people instead of just automobiles. Below is the official press release:
Thirty years after Bogotá, Colombia opened up her streets to be used by people, its about time San Diego stepped up to the plate to start the conversation about what a more livable city really looks like. CicloSDias will be an absolute game changer with regard to having that meaningful discussion and we're thrilled to see our new mayor lead on this issue.
YOUR Input Needed for Bike Corrals in the Gaslamp and East Village
By Bruce Shank
On Tuesday, January 30th, I had the chance to walk around the downtown areas of Gaslamp & East Village with city representatives, business associations, neighborhood planning council members, and other bike advocates discussing what makes for a good location for bike corrals and bike racks.
This current project is in the preliminary phase. Approximately $200,000 from parking district money is available to plan and install up 6 bike corrals and many smaller bike racks throughout the downtown area.
While in this phase your input is very helpful and desired. Please, if you live downtown, commute downtown, or just spend time on your bike in downtown – take the time to let us know where YOU would like to see a corral or bike racks placed. This is your time to get involved and be a part of the process. To provide your input, please add a comment to this post or send me an email (bruce@bikesd.org).
For my part, I submitted general design ideas, as well as specific locations.
Design Considerations:
I can understand the city’s priorities being cost and aesthetics, but of equal importance is what makes sense for cyclists, keeps them as safe as possible, and enables bike commuting without having to skirt traffic laws.
When the time comes to choose racks we should make sure their design enables as much locking security as possible. A good rack will allow for a U-lock to loop through the frame the rack and preferable a wheel or two. Racks that just lock a wheel are not secure and if they aren’t secure they won’t be used. I loved a suggestion made that signage be added instructing folks with the most secure and safe ways to park & lock their bike. These signs could be integrated with directions and markers to bike routes and neighborhoods from the location of the corral.
I think the city is missing out on a chance to show some color and class in our neighborhoods by only going with bland monochromatic bike corrals and racks that don’t stand out. Don’t be afraid of a little color and pizzazz. Bike corrals and racks that look much cooler and stand out more would draw more attention and entice more people to use them.
Some concerns have been raised about bike corrals being ‘in the way’ and presenting a nuisance during car-free public events. On the contrary: A car-free event would mean a reduction in street parking and might entice some to travel by bike; a corral would afford the chance to park in style. Similar the point made above, creative and attractive design of bike corrals will be an amenity to any neighborhood. When conceived as a combination parklet/corral, as seen in the picture at left, it will contribute valuable park space to gorgeous weather/park-deficient San Diego. For more parklet and parklet/corral inspiration, check out San Francisco's many Pavement to Parks projects.
Locations:
8th & G in my opinion makes one of the best locations for a bike corral. The corral would be on the right hand side of the road where most cyclists would already be. It is at the beginning of an intersection making for a safer egress and is linked to other bike friendly routes.
The red area on the north side of G along 8th also make a good location as parked cars would protect the corral and cyclists who leave wouldn’t have to contend with higher speed traffic already in the travel lane. They would be able to start off with the light.
There is a large red area and yellow loading area (at right) that could be used for the corral without taking away a paid parking spot from the city. Zanzibar is just on the other end of the block and makes for an equally good location for bike racks, especially for the cyclist who wants to lock up and keep an eye on his/her bike.
Ace Hardware spoke out about wanting a corral in front of their store. I feel that is one of the worst places for a corral and even racks. Ace is on the left side of the street so cyclists who would be on the right hand side would need to go across the lanes of traffic to get there. Then once they leave they are in the middle of the block and would exit with cars travelling at speed.
Lastly, I was giddy with excitement over the prospect of the area around J & 13th being used for corrals & parklets. This is such an amazing area given the location, schools, library, and its status as an up and coming neighborhood. This opportunity should not be missed!
For more about this project, read our previous post on Civic San Diego's initiatives.
Bikes a Hot Topic at Adams Ave Business Association
Last Tuesday, January 22nd at 8:00 a.m., the Adams Avenue Business Association held its annual meeting. Blind Lady Ale House hosted a packed breakfast that was attended by City Council President Todd Gloria and Council Member Marti Emerald along with representatives of businesses located along the Avenue. Of the surprising mentions during the meeting, the first was that last year, ninety new businesses have come to Adams Avenue. Of these, seven have invested at least a quarter of a million dollars in development. The second surprise was the mention of bikes by three of the four speakers, hinting toward the importance of active transportation in this vibrant community. Both Emerald and BLAH co-owner Jeff Motch personally mentioned commuting via bicycle on Adams Ave. Council President Gloria who used to live on Adams Ave in college, said it's a “bike friendly community and we're going to see more of that.”
Marti Emerald called for “new standards, not just repair” and Todd Gloria called for infrastructure improvements in the Mid-City area stating that “all of these neighborhoods are one hundred years old. Some look it.” Both agreed that they were the community's “customer service department” in this revitalized community with an emphasis on local business. Afterwards, local entrepreneur, Daniel Carlson, who recently opened Dark Horse Coffee Roasters on Adams Ave, said that he'd like to see more bike facilities as well as bike parking and parklets such as this one because, “if there's a business that is friendly to cyclists, they'll frequent it. If there's a part of town (that's bike friendly), then it benefits everybody.”
The bottom line is, the already dense Mid-City is experiencing tremendous growth and shows no sign of stopping. It's time for infrastructure to catch up. While North Park has recently added two bike corrals with two more on the way, Normal Heights, Kensington and University Heights still have none and all four neighborhoods lack bike lanes of any sort on major thoroughfares. This is a big opportunity for everyone involved as studies have shown that providing bike infrastructure helps to stimulate the local economy. This evening, SANDAG is holding its first meeting on the North Park - Mid-City Bike CorridorProject open to the public and we urge you to attend and offer input.
How do you envision the bicycle-friendly future of Mid-City?
- Tyler Bergin
North Park Planning Sub-Committee Unanimously Votes to Approve City's First Parklet and Two New Bike Corrals
If you missed the news on our twitter feed or our facebook page, on Monday night the North Park Planning Sub-Committee voted unanimously to approve installation of the City's first parklet and two new bike corrals.
According to our traveling reporter, Hans Wangbichler, some members of the sub-committee expressed some hesitation over the new corrals. They expressed reservation about addressing clearances from driveways for scheduled redevelopment. One person expressed concern about losing one car parking space in exchange for obtaining eight or more bicycle parking spaces.
According to Omar Passons who sits on the North Park Planning Committee, the vote will likely go on the consent agenda for approval by the entire Committee at its regularly scheduled monthly meeting and the item likely to sail through.
We'll post details when we get a hold of the agenda which hasn't been posted yet.