Completion of the West Point Loma Blvd Cycletrack (eastern segment)
Returning from scientific meetings and a holiday in July, I found the eastern span of the W. Pt Loma Blvd cycletrack completed (Adrian Street to Sports Arena Blvd). This is reason to celebrate. I’m personally happy because my partner’s daily commute to work is safer, and she already sees more bicycle and scooter riders on the track. As a community, Point Loma is one major step closer to having a fully connected bike way between Ocean Beach and Old Town Station. The San Diego River Bikeway currently connects these nodes, but for those that want to access the restaurants, breweries, businesses or neighborhoods between Old Town and OB, this new cycletrack on W. Pt Loma is a potential game changer.
The new cycletrack offers slow and fast riders space to safely maneuver, and generally increases the visibility of traffic at intersections. Turning left across W. Pt Loma is easier than before in the stretches where there is now one full speed (35 mph) travel lane, rather than two, to reach the center turn lane.
There is still room for improvement in the westbound direction as riders cross from Sports Arena Blvd onto W. Pt Loma Blvd. Across the interchange, westbound traffic changes from two travel lanes and a bicycle lane, to two travel lanes with bicycle sharrows, until the street widens back to separated bike lane after clearing the southbound left turn lane. I was taught in driver’s ed to never change lanes within an intersection, and regularly encounter confusion between cyclists and drivers over how to merge through this intersection.
All in all, I enjoy this new W Pt. Loma route more than ever. I look forward to completion of the western segment so that I too can enjoy a safer daily commute. I often pass people or dogs walking in the new cycletrack, and with ample space to pass, it feels like the street is more accessible to all. The western segment will also improve Rue de Orleans and W. Pt Loma Blvd - one of the more dangerous intersections identified as one of the ‘Fatal 15’ locations where repeat fatalities occur. These ‘Fatal 15’ inform the city’s Vision Zero approach for targeted pedestrian safety improvements.
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A Wonderful Transformation for West Point Loma Blvd
Yay - I will finally be able to safely ride my bike down West Point Loma Blvd to get ice cream at 31 Flavors. And I can stop at Barons and Grocery Outlet for some groceries. And the next day, I might hit the bank and enjoy a yoga class. A short bike ride to local businesses is a great amenity for all of us.
I am truly grateful for the community of Ocean Beach and Point Loma for supporting this amazing opportunity to repurpose our streets as they are resurfaced. Many thanks also to Council Member Campbell for supporting a Class IV bikeway to provide a safe facility for all ages and abilities. Repurposing our streets as they are resurfaced is a very cost-effective approach to making our streets safer while providing an option for more people to bike, walk, and roll. And West Point Loma is a perfect example.
The segment along West Point Loma Blvd from Nimitz Blvd to Sports Arena Blvd will be going on a “road diet” or shall we say it is being transformed to accommodate all users of the road. Vehicle lanes will be reduced to one lane in each direction but the choke points at the west and east end will not be changed, meaning all turn lanes towards Nimitz and Sports Arena/Midway will remain. Reducing the number of vehicle lanes will provide the space for a safe and comfortable bikeway, also referred to as a Class IV Bikeway or Cycle Track. The reduction of lanes will create traffic calming to foster safer driving behaviors. Speeds will be reduced but the average travel time through this corridor will be relatively the same (approximately a 4 second delay). This small few seconds is well worth the safety benefits for all. We applaud the City of SD for implementing a true Vision Zero Solution for Safety as the recommended treatment and support the City’s goals for safety to be a top priority.
There are other benefits to the neighborhood: home values will likely increase, parents can let their kids get to their neighborhood schools by foot or bike, and more people will be out and about visiting local business and being social. This all creates a more vibrant, healthy, and enjoyable place to live, work, and play.
Just in time for summer, our neighbors to the east of Nimitz, can now safely hop on their bike and safely pedal to the beach and best of all, they will not have to worry about parking a car. They will now have the best front row parking on the sand, all without contributing to traffic on Sunset Cliffs. I look forward to sharing smiles with new riders in the neighborhood. Thank you again, to all of you, for supporting a healthy lifestyles and a healthy future. Ride on…
Advocacy Alert: Bring Protected Bike Lanes to West Point Loma Blvd
Thursday, April 18, 2010 - 6 PM to 8:30 PM
Peninsula Community Planning Board Meeting
Location: Point Loma Library, 3701 Voltaire Street, San Diego, CA 92107
Come voice your support for fully-protected Class IV bike lanes along West Point Loma Blvd. The City of San Diego is presenting this option to the Peninsula Community Planning Board. It's critical that bike and street safety advocates come and support this project to help create an amazing transformation of a neighborhood street and provide a wonderful bike facility for all ages and abilities.
Spread the word and help show support for this opportunity to create safer streets in the community.
Vote! Peninsula Community Planning Board: Thurs 3/21, 4-8pm
BikeSD's C4 Board has endorsed seven candidates for this PCPB election.
Get our slate list right here —
http://bikesd2.site/2019/03/20/our-peninsula-community-board-2019-endorsements/
If you live in the Point Loma/Peninsula neighborhoods, get out and VOTE in the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) election. Voting will take place Thursday 3/21, from 4pm - 8pm at the PL Hervey Library (3701 Voltaire Street, San Diego, CA 92107).
See map below to confirm that you live in the voting-eligible area.http://bikesd2.site/2019/03/20/our-peninsula-community-board-2019-endorsements/
West Point Loma Blvd bike lanes: still no approval from PCPB
On Thursday night, staff from San Diego's Traffic & Storm Water Division (TSW) presented slides detailing the West Point Loma Blvd bike lane project to the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB). The project encompasses a "road diet" on a 4-lane-wide stretch of West Point Loma Blvd., reconfigured to a 2-car-lane street with a Class 2 bike lane (paint-buffered only) and other traffic calming measures. This was the third presentation since October 2018 made by the city to the Peninsula community board about the West Point Loma Blvd. bike lane project. TSW's slideshow gave PCPB the results of their detailed traffic analysis, parking study data, lane configuration drawings, and Level of Service (LoS) impacts — all of which showed minimal impacts on drivers along the corridor — in an effort to win approval from the community board for the project.
Unfortunately, the PCPB did not approve the project, though it also did not make a motion of denial.
Speakers in support of the project from BikeSD and San Diego County Bicycle Coalition urged the board to approve the bike facility. There were also others, including local residents on West Point Loma Blvd, that also spoke in favor of better bicycle facilities along this corridor.
There were also a handful of residents that were opposed or had questions. Two audience members took issue with the term "road diet," and insisted that this should be called a "lane removal." Board members' questions focused on issues of traffic delay, the 'back-in/angled parking' configuration, the decline from a Grade B to a Grade C 'Level of Service', and the 'math not working out' when a car lane was removed. These questions were challenging for TSW staff, who gave technical answers that didn't mollify critics on the board.
Many of the PCPB board members shared desire for better bicycle facilities but still wanted to critically discuss specific design elements. Nicole Burgess of BikeSD said, "I think some them truly want to be traffic engineers."
In the end, there was no vote on the project but the board passed a motion calling for the City to return and discuss it further at the PCPB Transportation Subcommittee.
Nicole Burgess wrote San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer immediately following the meeting, "I believe the City has done due diligence and provided adequate information as they have presented three times now at the PCPB. Also, as a reminder, the OB Planning Group unanimously supported a road diet to provide safe bicycle facilities."
BikeSD believes that Level of Service (LoS) should not be the focus of presentations about bike infrastructure, just as it has been removed as a valid topic for CEQA studies. LoS leads to a very narrow discussion about the impact on drivers and travel-time rather than safety and the equitable use of public rights-of-way. Instead, the Vision Zero Systematic Solutions for Safety should be the leading guideline for these types of improvements. We can not let Community Planning Groups make final decisions for the safety measures needed for our streets to meet Vision Zero and CAP goals.
The West Point Loma bike facility was originally proposed by the Bicycle Advisory Board back in the spring of 2018, with unanimous support for the project. For the safety of all road users, BikeSD is hopeful that Mayor Faulconer and Councilmember Jennifer Campbell will advocate for this type of improvement in their community. We applaud TSW's proposed striping plans and believe this Class 2 bike lane is an essential piece of the puzzle to fill in the gap along this corridor.
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