Make Uptown Great Again – BikeSD Endorses Maya Rosas and Joshua Clark to Uptown Planners

Maya Rosas is a Hillcrest resident and a passionate urbanist and dedicated advocate for safer, complete streets for San Diego’s cyclists and pedestrians, alike. Formerly on staff at Walk San Diego, Maya truly established herself as an influencer while a Policy Analyst at Circulate San Diego. For more than two years, Maya advocated at key governmental organizations, including the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and at Uptown Planners. In bringing her expertise to bear, Maya co-authored CirculateSD’s Vision Zero report, which helped drive the City of San Diego’s adoption of last year’s Vision Zero resolution – a key effort in helping continue San Diego’s development toward becoming a world-class city for cycling.

Josh Clark  is a Mission Hills resident who holds degrees in History from UCLA and a Masters in City Planning from SDSU.  Clark is a Senior Planner with Alta Planning + Design, specifically working as a GIS analyst focused on active transportation planning. A bike commuter, Josh routinely rides the streets of San Diego with a keen eye towards what works well, and where improvements can be made.  Evenings and weekends are spent exploring Uptown on bike or by foot, tending the vegetable garden, playing soccer, or being humbled by a home improvement project.  Josh is committed to preserving the exceptional qualities of Uptown’s neighborhoods for current and future residents.

Uptown Planners is a key community planning group in the City of San Diego’s urban core and includes the neighborhoods of Bankers Hill/Park West, Hillcrest, Mission Hills, University Heights, Five Points/Middletown, and the Medical Complex. As the official planning advisory board to the City, it’s key that forward-thinking members with an eye toward fostering smart urban growth focused on active transportation, be elected to the Board. Maya and Josh are running on a slate of candidates who fit the bill. BikeSD recommends that you arrive early enough on Tuesday, March 1st, to meet Maya and Josh, as well as hear their recommendations for the remaining slate of candidates. A voter may vote for up to seven candidates!

Last year, our endorsement helped elect Michael Brennan and Kyle Heiskala to the Uptown Planners board, and their influence on the board cannot be understated. It was through Heiskala’s patience and willingness to educate his fellow board members that Uptown Planners voted to support protected bike lanes along all of University Avenue at their 2015 December meeting, something that could happen through city efforts regardless of SANDAG’s own project. This development was a huge departure from Uptown Planners of the past and it is only because of Heiskala and Brennan than this change was possible. So this being election year, don’t discount your voice. Opposition to safe streets and in favor of maintaining the status quo is still strong – so come out next Tuesday and VOTE!

Details of the election are below:

**To vote, an individual must present identification proving either residency, property ownership, or business ownership in Uptown. Identification may include a driver’s license, utility bill, tax bill, business license, or rent receipt – any document that has the voter’s name and street address. Photocopies of documents are acceptable.**

See you there!