Send a letter in support of 30th Street protected bike lanes right now
Send a letter in support of 30th Street protected bike lanes right now
Writing your own personal message to kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov and christopherward@sandiego.gov is always better, but here’s a sample letter you can modify:
Greetings Mayor Faulconer and Representative Ward,
Thank you for supporting the plan to add protected bike infrastructure to 30th Street in North Park. There are numerous benefits to the community, spanning health, environmental, and economic considerations. There are myriad benefits for communities that extend beyond the bike and scooter riders who use the cycletracks, which can result in safer streets for all, less congestion, and ultimately less competition for already limited parking spaces.
Many of the business owners along the 30th Street corridor will benefit from increased business and foot traffic through their stores. There is significant precedent for cycle infrastructure increasing business revenue.
To help reach our City’s climate action goals, investing in protected bikeways along neighborhood commercial streets like 30th Street is critical. Protected bikeways allow safe travel for people of all ages and will allow more people to choose environmentally beneficial mobility options like scooter and bike instead of making a car trip. As the cost of gasoline continues to rise, the return on this investment will be invaluable to some of our most vulnerable citizens.
San Diego has the weather, the geography, and the existing road space to become a world class walking, biking, and scootering city through smart design and planning. I’m excited to see how all of our communities can become connected through future investments like the protected bikeways along 30th Street.
Sincerely,
_____________
Letter in support of protected bike lanes on 30th Street in North Park
BikeSD member Matt Schalles sent this email and we wanted to share. Support protected bike lanes on 30th Street by sending your own message today to kevinfaulconer@sandiego.gov and christopherward@sandiego.gov.
Greetings Mayor Faulconer and Representative Ward,
Thank you for supporting the plan to add protected bike infrastructure to 30th Street in North Park. There are numerous benefits to the community, spanning health, environmental, and economic considerations. There are myriad benefits for communities that extend beyond the cyclists who use the cycletracks, which can result in safer streets for all, less congestion, and ultimately less competition for already limited parking spaces.
I wonder how many of the business owners along the corridor would benefit from increased business and foot traffic through their stores? There is significant precedent for cycle infrastructure increasing business revenue.
Cycling infrastructure is an investment. To help reach our goals for increased bicycle ridership, we need to first provide the infrastructure. Data from the UK, which has heavily invested in cycling infrastructure in the past few years, showed increases as large as 50-75% in two years after installation of cycletracks. As the cost of gasoline continues to rise, the return on this investment will be invaluable to some of our most vulnerable citizens.
San Diego has the weather, the geography, and the existing road space to become a world class biking city through smart design and planning. I'm excited to see how all of our communities can become connected through future bicycling investments.
Sincerely,
Matt Schalles
A vision for the Presidio: one-way vehicular loop on Presidio & Jackson
To support safer biking and walking conditions on Presidio Drive and around the beautiful park, BikeSD is creating a vision and a collaborative effort to redirect traffic into a one-way vehicular loop composed of Presidio Drive and Jackson Street.
Vehicles would be restricted to a single direction — either westbound on Presidio; eastbound on Jackson or the reverse — while people walking and riding would gain the extra land space to go in either direction, such as other multi-use paths around the city. Furthermore, the idea to make Presidio Drive into a one way lane for vehicles while using the other lane for bikes and pedestrians is also part of the community plan. The pieces of the puzzle are starting to align and BikeSD sees the possibility of making this idea a reality.
BikeSD was excited to learn that District 3 Council Member Chris Ward had prioritized this concept in his 2019/2020 budget priorities. It's great to have CM Ward’s leadership and voice for the need to create safer streets. We applaud his support for bike infrastructure that is safe and and comfortable for people of all ages.
We will continue to strategize and collaborate with stakeholders to identify the next steps to implement this concept. In reality, appropriate paint markings and signage is all that is needed to change this flow of traffic. Perhaps we can create an experimental project to see if it really can work out. If you are interested in working on this project or want to contribute in any way, please email talk@bikesd.org.
Support BikeSD's advocacy by becoming a member today
Bike markings coming to Morena Blvd at the Interstate 8 crossing
New bike striping plans and signage for bike riders will be implemented on Morena Boulevard where it crosses Interstate 8 in the next few months. This is an exciting moment in time when Caltrans takes the opportunity to implement safe street markings on state-controlled interchanges that can provide additional guidance, safety, and comfort for people riding bikes.
These Morena Blvd stripings were triggered when BikeSD Board President Nicole Burgess rode through the area and sent a tweet to Caltrans more than one year ago. She requested @CaltransSD provide safer connections through this corridor which would connect to the City’s efforts that implemented bike lanes and facility improvements on the north end of the corridor. Her request has been granted.
Caltrans Pedestrian and Bicycle Committee has discussed this project at the last two meetings and attached are the new striping plans and signage that will be implemented. BikeSD is glad to see that Caltrans is taking the initiative to provide better facilities throughout their jurisdiction. We appreciate collaborative efforts by Caltrans as they engaged and worked with the bike community to get the best improvements that can be made with paint. Obviously, there are better ways to improve the corridor but not without lots of money to tie up the interchanges (which is not happening anytime soon).
The plans shown above (see PDF for high-resolution drawings) are quite detailed. Overall BikeSD is supportive of these improvements. One concern that BikeSD and other bike advocates suggested was to add "Green Dashed Paint Markings through the Intersection” per NACTO guidelines. This was a consistent request by many people who ride bikes, but unfortunately the Operations Team at Caltrans is not willing to do so. We've inquired to understand what prevents Caltrans from implementing these types of paint markings and will keep our members posted on Caltrans response.
Regardless, we're looking forward to better striping through this area and thank Caltrans for their efforts. As the improvements are made in the next few months, we hope that you appreciate the new facility markings. Feel free to send a tweet or email to @CaltransSD thanking them for the new improvements and any concerns you may observe as a bike rider.
Support BikeSD's advocacy by becoming a member
Monday, April 22 - BikeSD Mixer Meetup at Flavordome
Come meet up and have a beer with BikeSD's board of directors for a social mixer at Modern Times' FLAVORDOME! We'd love to hear your ideas about biking and bike advocacy in San Diego. And we'll be celebrating our successful event: the Family Ride and People Protected Lanes on 30th Street. Join us for a drink and stay for our full board meeting at 7:00 pm, if you'd like. We love doing outreach with the amazing bike community in our city!
Event Details
Date: Monday, April 22
Time: 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm - Mixer and socializing
7:00 - 8:30 pm - Board meeting (all are welcome)
Location: Modern Times Flavordome, 3000 Upas St, San Diego, CA 92104 - Google Map link
