{"id":237759,"date":"2015-07-03T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-07-03T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/sandag-releases-uptown-bike-plan\/"},"modified":"2015-07-03T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T07:00:00","slug":"sandag-releases-uptown-bike-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/sandag-releases-uptown-bike-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"SANDAG releases Uptown Bike Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bicycling advocates remain optimistic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Por Ken Williams | Editor contribuyente<\/p>\n

Down but not out. That seems to describe bicycling advocates\u2019 reactions after the region\u2019s transportation panel voted against a compromise plan with broad community support that had been proposed to improve biking along University Avenue from Washington to Normal streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs you can imagine, we as advocates in the bicycling community and more broadly, as supporters of safer streets and vibrant communities, were very disappointed with the June 5 vote by the SANDAG Transportation Committee to move forward with the constrained University Avenue segment of the Uptown Bikeways Project,\u201d said Andy Kopp, Bike San Diego board president.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the main east\/west alignment for the bike corridor, having robust, fully protected bicycle infrastructure on University Avenue is paramount to achieving truly safe cycling and increased ridership goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

At a standing room-only gathering at SANDAG offices Downtown, which spilled over into another meeting room where the discussion could be viewed on a monitor via an Internet feed, more than 70 people spoke in favor of the protected bicycle lanes for University Avenue through Mission Hills and Hillcrest. Many stressed safety issues, since this Uptown area is considered one of the most dangerous in San Diego for bicyclists and pedestrians because of the traffic congestion and narrow streets.<\/p>\n

A handful of people supported doing nothing for bicyclists, mostly business owners who said they were concerned about losing parking spaces, and possibly customers, as a result.<\/p>\n

\"bike_mapweb\"<\/a>After three hours of public comments and deliberations by the Transportation Committee, member Ron Roberts (county supervisor) made a motion to approve a watered-down version of the project that was seconded by Chair Todd Gloria (city councilmember) and passed.<\/p>\n

What was approved was essentially doing little on University Avenue from Washington to the State Route 163 overpass. SANDAG will paint sharrows (shared lane arrows) to indicate to drivers that bicyclists are entitled to share the lanes with motorists.<\/p>\n

The stretch from the SR 163 overpass to Normal Street \u2014 where University Avenue widens considerably \u2014 will be reconfigured to provide fully protected bicycling lanes.<\/p>\n

Gloria told the audience that the eastern stretch with the fully protected bicycling lanes will become a model for the rest of the city.<\/p>\n

That did little to please some bicycling advocates but Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the Coalici\u00f3n de bicicletas del condado de San Diego<\/a>, saw room for hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will notice the impact. It\u2019s unfortunate that it does not continue, but getting something done that will demonstrate effectiveness to improve safety and bicycle ridership and ease congestion will be welcome,\u201d Hanshaw said.<\/p>\n

Kopp was also disappointed by the process.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was so much good work done over the course of more than two years to produce a design which would transform University Avenue in Hillcrest into a thoroughfare worthy of such a great neighborhood,\u201d Kopp said. \u201cWith the Transform Hillcrest alternative design, it seemed as though everyone was working in good faith to take in the concerns of businesses, community groups, and advocacy organizations, alike. In the end, we no longer feel that was the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile publicly supporting the Transform Hillcrest design, the Hillcrest Business Association employed the lobbying services of California Strategies to pressure elected officials and key decision makers to strip the plan of the key infrastructure necessary to succeed as a robust cycling corridor,\u201d Kopp continued. \u201cIn the end, the community lost because it was outgunned by a group with deeper pockets and misplaced concerns, acting only in its narrow, perceived self-interest, instead of for the greater community.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day before the vote, Johnathan Hale, president of the Hillcrest Business Association, shared with the media a letter he sent to Gloria.<\/p>\n

\u201cHBA representatives recently met with SANDAG to discuss the revised scope, and we appreciate SANDAG\u2019s commitment to improving the pedestrian experience along University Avenue while also providing additional bicycle infrastructure along Washington Street and University Avenue. Equally important, it is our understanding the revised scope will maintain eastbound vehicular access to University Avenue from Washington Street,<\/p>\n

and it will also minimize the parking loss along University Avenue throughout the Hillcrest business core,\u201d Hale wrote in the letter.<\/p>\n

For Kopp, even the eastern stretch with protected bicycle lanes is a cause for concern.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt may sound counterintuitive, but it\u2019s possible that adding those few blocks of protected cycling lanes on University Avenue could actually be more dangerous,\u201d Kopp said, adding that bicyclists exiting the cycling lanes will have to \u201creestablish themselves\u201d with drivers who weren\u2019t expecting a bicyclist in their lane.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat merge is a hazard for cyclists and motorists, alike, and the confusion it creates could lead to the increased tensions of motorists who already don’t like to share the road,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve already heard from experienced cyclists who would just as soon remain in their position in the auto lanes, to say nothing for potential cyclists who will likely choose not to ride at all because of safety concerns. The only solution that will result in the increased mode share goals for cycling is to build fully protected, ubiquitous cycling lanes to separate auto and cycling traffic.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bicycling advocates said they will continue to push officials to make University Avenue safer for bicyclists and pedestrians.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, we are looking at options for that now,\u201d Hanshaw said. \u201cIt\u2019s a serious safety concern to have this gap along what is statistically the most dangerous corridor in the city for bicyclists and pedestrians. It must be addressed through the city or whatever means necessary to save lives and make our city bike-friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite this setback, we\u2019re very optimistic for the future, not only for the overall Uptown Bikeways, but for revisiting the constrained section of University Avenue, as well,\u201d Kopp said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore and more studies, including one just released by UCSD [read it at tinyurl.com\/ps5envw<\/a>], keep reinforcing a simple and compelling truth: Adding safe, protected cycling lanes to a community improves business,\u201d he continued. \u201cOne of our jobs as advocates is to make sure that studies like these can no longer be ignored and to let our elected officials know that we expect them to stand up and lead on the issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cBike San Diego is continuing to advocate for revisiting this segment of the Uptown Bikeways Project, while also not losing sight of the bigger picture. There are many projects in the pipeline and the city simply cannot afford to see them weakened one by one. There are lots of competing interests surrounding every one of those projects, so we, as well as San Diego County Bicycle Coalition need folks to join us in this effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith respect to the University Avenue segment specifically, our two organizations along with DecoBike, are hosting a new, weekly Share The Road ride on University Avenue to raise confidence and awareness for experienced and casual cyclists, alike, while riding in the full lane,\u201d Kopp said. \u201cBut that\u2019s not enough. We\u2019re exploring every avenue possible to bring this segment back to the drawing board, to restore the public’s trust in a process gone awry, and for our elected officials to correct this mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hanshaw said his group would not back down.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety concerns will not go away unless they are addressed by more than just the bicycling community,\u201d he said. \u201cIt should be a dialogue that everyone participates in. We have to begin to implement the funded projects in the Regional Bike Plan and in order to do so, people need to be willing to think about more than parking and car access to their communities.<\/p>\n

\u201cStudies are clearly showing that bike lanes make for safer streets and increased business activity. Why wouldn\u2019t we want this?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014Ken Williams can be reached at <\/em>ken@sdcnn.com<\/em><\/a> o al 619-961-1952.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bicycling advocates remain optimistic By Ken Williams | Contributing Editor Down but not out. That seems to describe bicycling advocates\u2019 reactions after the region\u2019s transportation panel voted against a compromise plan with broad community support that had been proposed to improve biking along University Avenue from Washington to Normal streets.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":237760,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"SANDAG releases Uptown Bike Plan","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11600],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-237759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-sdnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=237759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/237759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/237760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=237759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=237759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=237759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}