City plans to ease traffic on Rosecrans by studying the problem

Despite some minimal progress toward fixing roads in San Diego, traffic gridlock and ill-maintained (and the never maintained) roads remain a constant source of irritation for the city’s cyclists.

Rosecrans Street is one of the busiest streets in the city with an average daily traffic of up to 100,000 vehicles. The city of San Diego, with help of a $300,000 grant from CALTRANS,  has finally decided to ease the traffic problems on Rosecrans by studying the problem. The study could take years and any changes as a result of that study – that much longer.

rosecransmapth

However the good news is that the “goal of the study is to identify short-,mid- and long-term projects that will improve pedestrian access, bicycle facilities and accessibility, transit operations and facilities, and traffic flow in the corridor.”

To date, the study has found that the lack of infrastructure, including a lack of bike lanes, has caused many to ride on the sidewalk. Additionally, based on weekday counts, the following intersections were found to have the highest amount of bicycle traffic:

  • Rosecrans / Pacific Highway
  • Rosecrans / Kurtz
  • Rosecrans / Laning
  • Rosecrans / Moore
  • Rosecrans / Sports Arena
  • Rosecrans / Nimitz

The study has also found that just striping a bike lane may not get usage by bicyclists as the speed limit on Rosecrans is too high for the more vulnerable riders such as children to be comfortable and feel safe while riding. Speed limit reductions and other traffic calming measures that can be implemented on Rosecrans Street are under consideration by the city.

The city is welcoming comments from the public. You are invited to submit comments to the city or contact the Project Manager, Oscar Valdivieso at ovaldivieso@sandiego.gov