2020 SD City Council District 9 Candidate Responses

2020 City Council Questionnaire - District 9: Alston, Barrios, Elo, Gade, Lee

2020 SD City Council District 9 Candidate Responses


Candidate: Sean Elo —

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 1 for residents and families?

1. The construction of the Orange Avenue bikeway

2. Improved roads, including filling potholes, creating more protected bike lanes, and better lighting

3. Programs to offer free bicycles to youth from low and middle-income families

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be re striped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

First, I would work to ensure San Diego is doing all it can to capitalize on funding made available via federal, state (e.g. SB1), and regional legislation and initiatives. Included in the effort to capitalize on existing funding would be an increased emphasis on dedicating staff to pursue grant opportunities, especially those related to goals and plans the city has agreed to.

Second, I would be open to pursuing additional sources of revenue, whether through fees or a new dedicated funding stream. Essential to this route is creating widespread community buy-in through proactive engagement. I am a firm believer that the public is willing to invest in big, bold ideas that are dreamt up in partnership with community.

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

I support our city’s Climate Action Plan. My priority is to ensure these plans are effectively implemented. This implementation should put every idea on the table to address the global climate crisis.

There are multiple levers that must be pulled for us to reach the mode share goals necessary to meet our GHG reduction targets. First, we must make cycling safe for everyone who wants to ride. Second, we must prioritize and incentivize planning and development that makes cycling a reasonable transportation option for more people. Simply put, we need folks to live closer to where they work, shop, and go to school. Finally, we need to develop a generation of cyclists by putting more young people on bikes. The free bicycle program mentioned above would do just that while addressing transportation inequity.

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

Bring the impacted parties to the table early and often. My experience leading community organizers in District 9 and building coalitions across the city taught me there is no replacement for early conversation. Doing so will allow us to identify solutions to many of the concerns folks have and, at a minimum, ensure that everyone knows they were heard.5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

The first time I rode to Tijuana. It was my first month living in San Diego and I just thought it was the coolest thing that I could hop on my bike and ride to the border. Cycling was my primary mode of transportation at that point in time, but there was something special about that first trip.

 


Candidate: Kevin Alston —

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 9 for residents and families?

Develop a plan to design Bike lanes that connect All of San Diego. 

Rationale: As your councilman, I will work with transportation professionals, urban planners, architects, and private developers to get their input on how to implement the improvements in cycling conditions so desperately needed to reduce the dangers of cycling in San Diego County. Those efforts will require me to coordinate with my fellow council members, state, and federal government officials. Public policymakers at all levels must not only provide the necessary funding for better bicycling facilities but also adopt and implement a range of policies to encourage more compact, mixed-use development that naturally permits and encourages cycling as a part of daily life.

Traffic Signals with Bicycle Detection

Rationale: San Diego is reinventing its roadways to move more people, more safely and efficiently through the city, and as your elected official, I will work to complete networks that offer people more options to get around town in the ways that meet their day-to-day needs safely.

Offer “Free” Bicycle Safety Courses through the Community Colleges 

Rationale: Bicycle repair workshops can be found in a variety of locations. Since college students typically comprise a larger-than-average cycling population, many short-term bike repair or maintenance courses are sponsored by colleges and universities on a non-credit basis. Community organizations, such as Bicycle Inter-Community Action and Salvage (BICAS), provide bicycle repair courses to the community as a means of promoting sustainable transportation (www.bicas.org). Additionally, bicycle shops often sponsor bicycle repair and maintenance courses for the general riding public.

Here is an outline of common concepts taught in bicycle repair courses:

  • Chain, gear and brake repair
  • Flat tire maintenance
  • Hand-on experience
  • Wheel truing and repair
  • Bicycling tours
  • Terrain familiarity
  • Building workshops

 

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be restriped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

There have been funds allocated for building out San Diego infrastructure and I will ensure it is used as the citizens expected! I will create an action committee through my staff to research alternative funding for the bike lane project.

Also, corporate and private funding is an option.  Groups dedicated to Bicycle safety would rally around the City’s need to improve Bicycle safety and would more than likely augment the existing city budget. As an incentive, I could lobby for naming Bike Lanes after the donators.

 

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

Educate the public through info-commercial, social media campaigns explaining the need to pressure our elected official to support the City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode.  The promotional materials should include the benefits for improving conditions for bicycling in our cities is vital for San Diego’s public health. The fact is that bicycling would not only reduce pedestrian and cycling fatalities and injuries but also allow millions of people, many of them dangerously overweight, to bike or walk for some of their short trips and thus obtain healthful exercise in the course of daily life. More cycling would yield further public health benefits by reducing the use of automobiles, thus diminishing air and noise pollution and the overall level of traffic danger.

 

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

It is important to package safety-enhancing programs in a way that dramatizes their benefits to everyone. The most obvious benefit would be the reduced risk of death and injury from cycling. The safety issue must be brought home to San Diego residents by public campaigns emphasizing the direct impacts on individuals, their families, and their friends. Improved safety also would encourage more people to cycle on a regular basis, providing them with valuable exercise, mobility options, independence, and even fun.

I will build a coalition of experts with public health officials because we should be working together with bicyclist and pedestrian advocates, traffic engineers, urban planners, environmentalists, architects and private developers, community leaders, and government officials at all levels. The public health community has the most potential to encourage the necessary changes at the grassroots level. Unless individual people can be convinced that they will directly benefit from better cycling conditions, politicians are unlikely to support the necessary policies. Self-interest is likely to be the strongest motivation to effect changes in travel behavior. Getting enough physical exercise is quite literally a matter of life or death. Health care professionals must convince their patients that walking and cycling on a regular basis for daily travel will help them live longer and healthier lives.

 

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

My fondest memories from my childhood of bicycling was in Coney Island.  As a New Yorker, we never grew up with a car, we relied on public transportation and bicycling.  My friends and I would cycle all over Brooklyn from sunrise to sunset, and never realized the distances we traveled. We just enjoyed the freedom bicycling allowed teenager to experience. Now my two adult children take me on trips that involve cycling to our destinations and then explore areas of San Diego that you can only get to through bike lanes. I really enjoy how bicycling transports me and my kids to back nature through off-road trails and inner-city explorations.

 


Candidate: Kelvin Barrios —

 

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 9 for residents and families?

My top 3 priorities to improving the biking experience in District 9, well in a nutshell is improving the biking experience in San Diego.

1) We need to complete bike corridors, that will get you across town without having to worry about a break in bike paths or ride through regular traffic

2) We need safe bikeways, protected lines would be best and ideal, bike signal lights and improved roadway, I would also advocate for MTS to include more bike racks like other transit agencies have done.

3) I would advocate for a set yearly allocation of funds to complete our unfunded bikeway projects, streamline permitting process and work hand in had with SANDAG on their bikeway projects.

 

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be restriped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

We currently have a good amount of funds set to go to improving roads, the city should take into account how to better connect our different bike lanes when bidding out road repair projects, that way we don’t have fragmented bike lane striping around the city, but better yet, we should do a yearly review of our San Diego Bicycle Master Plan and where we are at in implementing the projects and adjust as needed for new projects. The city needs to work better with SANDAG and be true partners to fund and permit our bikeway projects. I have seen first hand how the City has at times slowed down good bikeway projects that SANDAG has been proposing, but I have also been on the other side, where we along with community bike activist have slowed down a project to improve it. The orange-howard bikeway project is a good example of that.

 

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

Currently the sad truth is that the City is not doing enough to meet our mode shift goals, I am a strong advocate that we need to do more, we need to do better. I will propose a plan that will actually track our shift from cars to bikes, and layout milestones we need to reach in order to truly make progress on this. We need to team up with SANDAG on the tracking, and MTS on accommodating and being more bike friendly. We have to talk to each other on the different government agencies if we are to do this right and also push back when we are not seeing enough progress.

 

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

I’ll be honest, I am not a fan of saving parking spots at all cost. It’s backwards thinking, we need to plan for the future, and sometimes that means making some scarifies right now to have a better tomorrow. In order to meet our CAP goals we need to be more aggressive. With that being said, there are ways to minimize parking loss, but let’s not do it at the expenses of the project… it does little to really encourage people to ride bikes if all we are doing is a simple paint job and not protected lanes, with bulb outs and cutways for bikes ect.

 

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

I have many, I really enjoy bicycling, Back when I was working as a Transportation Policy Advisor for Councilmember Gomez I would ride my bike to work a few times a month. I loved going through Pershing Ave into downtown. There was that time where we rode our bikes with community folks to the University Ave Bikeway Project open house, we rode down University to really experience how unsafe that was and how much we really needed a safe bikeway project there. There was also a fun day where Georgette and I rode our bikes together to a community event she was speaking at, we both live in City Heights and decided to bike instead of drive to the event.


 

 


Candidate: Andrew Gade —

I would like to thank you for your hard work in regards to Bike SD. I believe that is very important to continue to look at ways to expand the network of protected bike and pedestrian lanes. San Diego definitely needs to update our Bicycle master plan. We need to balance parking and residents concerns along with completing a full city wide bike network. I have a utility overlap proposal that will help coordinate all road and infrastructure work to incorporate bike and pedestrian right of ways. If nothing else, I can guarantee I will do everything in my power to best represent San Diegans needs and protect our future.

 


Candidate: Johnny Lee —

I am not seeking PAC endorsement or funding. I am simply answering your questions.

Some people say they care about the environment, but the truth is they really don't. Some people say the care about the environment, and yet they still have a car and drive. I don't have a car, I get around by getting rides, biking, using my hover craft, walking, and Uber/Lyft.

I have a lot of fond memories of biking, I haven't had a car in 4 years.
1. Going along dedicated bike lanes, along creeks, are relaxing, safe and convenient.
2. Going around in circles on my bike, realizing I have no reason I need to go straight to where I need to go, and taking my time.
3. Being amazed at myself to be able to get to the other side of town, faster than a car during rush hour traffic, and always much faster than a bus.
4. Going up a mountain with a bike that doesn't have gears.
5. Going up mountains for no reason with my crazy biker friends, with a bike with gears. Peddling real fast, but not going anywhere fast.
6. The leader of my biking club getting hit by car. When he gave me biking lessons in, he told me don't worry about using the full lane, "we have the right of way". I told him, "You're crazy, get out of the road". One month later, he was hit by a car.
7. Remembering how stupid the bike lanes were, to be located on the busiest streets in town, which are unsafe and slows down car traffic. I would go one street over, be in a residential street, and have a safe and convenient ride without ever using the bike lanes.
8. Remembering when I complained to the city about bike and pedestrian passages being closed off, making it impossible for bikers get to their destinations.
9. Almost getting hit by a car, several times, because I ignored the traffic signs.
10. Getting hit by tree branches while biking, they hurt a lot more than I expected.
11. Giving my bike away to a senior citizen. A senior citizen told me his bike was stolen. I gave him my bike.
12. Many more memories.

My top priority is to created dedicated bike lanes, mainly along the creeks, and making it circle the entire city, so people can use dedicated bike lanes, and not bike lanes on city streets.

I do NOT believe in bike lanes on city streets, I believe they are UNSAFE, and not needed since most major roads are parallel to residential streets. I really think it would be safer if bikers would take residential streets instead of the busy main streets.

Goal of 6% by 2020. Dreaming.. Dreaming.. Dreaming... Stop dreaming people. Is your purpose to improve the environment or make it safer and fun for bikers? I don't have a car myself, but I would never force other people to who have to dress up to get to work, or use a car for grocery shopping, or to pick up kids. There are seniors and disable people who need to drive to get where they want, and can not walk far. What are we doing, by getting rid of parking spaces, and intentionally slowing car traffic so that more people would use public transportation, is this to improve traffic or to fix the environment?

I worked in the bio-energy (renewable energy) industry for 7 years. I am a lead researcher in biomass energy conversion still today. I presented at the Department of Energy in 2017 about my biomass energy conversion research. I have a degree in biology. I realistically understand our environmental problems better than most people. Unlike some people who just talk. I put my money where my mouth is. I bike, I use public transportation and I work in renewable energy. I think we
are dreaming if we expect that slowing down traffic will cause more people to use public transportation. I believe that as a government, if you can not help people, than don't do anything to hurt them. And these bike lanes are doing just that. You and me, both know, these bike lanes in the city are completely unutilized and are slowing down traffic, and making life worse for drivers; and ultimately make it unsafe for bikers, which in the long run, make it less beneficial for people to bike.

And in the end, the environment is not improved.

Bike lanes, have nothing to do with the environment, and I think environmentalist should stay out of making bike lanes, and leave making bike lanes to bikers and people who want to protect bikers and not the environment.

With respect to the environment. I believe we should live in harmony with the planet, and that means living within our means, wanting less and using less energy. I believe that the whole planet is already working towards fixing the environment, and everywhere cars and electronics are becoming more efficient and using less energy. I want a whole world that runs on renewable energy, and even cars that are 100% environmentally friendly. If all cars are environmentally friendly, use less energy and run on renewable energy, what is wrong with cars then? This is the path, the entire world is working towards so that we can have a better environment, and I think the whole world is right. If we want to limit
transportation emissions, all we have to do is make cars more efficient and run on renewable energy.

Things are already going down this path. Bike lanes on busy roads will not help the environment, it is a dream to think that from 1% of people on public transport we are going to get everyone or even more than 2-3% on bikes and buses; the infrastructure is not there and logistically it is impossible.

I have a realistic plan to fix the environment and make biking safe and fun for everyone, and it does not involve forcing people to use public transportation and making their lives more inconvenient. I want to make life easier for people, our residents already have enough to worry about.

 


2020 Candidate Questionnaire - Mayor: Bry, Gloria

photo of Barbara Bry

Candidate: Barbara Bry —

1. What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience for residents and families in San Diego
  • Addressing safety issues between bicyclists and vehicles
  • Update of San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan
  • Educating youth about the importance of bicycle safety and expanding their bicycling experiences
2. San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be restriped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

Achieving our Climate Action Plan goals needs to be our most important priority in the work ahead for the next mayor, not just adopting plans, but making the hard implementation decisions. Bicycles are important to help meet our Climate Action Plan goals. I think it is important to have an honest discussion and assessment of the costs and seek realistic funding streams to meet the Bicycle Master Plan, including any potential revisions to the plan. We need to be engaged in looking at potential new dedicated funding streams and other possible funding sources. We need to make certain there is accountability of city staff to meet the plan’s benchmarks on our short-term and mid-term goals, and be realistic that with any long-term plans, there must be flexibility to look at new alternatives that were not realistic, cost effective or even known at the time of the planning. There will be a real discussion about future public transit at MTS, SANDAG, and how that plays in our Bicycle Master Plan. Also, when planning resurfacing and future bicycle infrastructure we need to audit our street maintenance, powerline undergrounding and public transit schedules to determine other possible cost off-sets. Too many times politicians will propose grand ideas without consideration of the actual cost, community input and buy-in on the final plan. I learned at city council that without sitting down with stakeholders, city staff, reviewing the costs and potential funding streams, elected officials will not be able to fulfill those promises.

3. Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

Our city has lurched from one decision to the next in response to crisis, without engaging in necessary research, discussions, planning, nor has it held people accountable for implementation. We have seen this with delays in street repairs, increases in our unsheltered population, failure to achieve our affordable housing goals among other things. Because city council failed to make tough decisions, we are not meeting our Climate Action Plan goals. The current council has worked to move in a different direction, taking affirmative action. We are now approving housing with inclusionary along transit coordinators, we passed Pure Water, started installing protected bike lanes and now are debating real public transit options. I think it would be unrealistic to lay out a plan without having proper community input, without including city staff in the discussion, and without legal counsel. It is why we got into this problem in the first place. I will promise to develop a plan that seeks to exceed our Climate Action Plan, that includes community input, an honest cost assessment, realistic funding streams, includes legal counsel and is attainable and deliverable. I hope your organization will at the table for this discussion.

4. Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

I think it goes back to bringing together all those impacted parties for input towards a final decision, giving them a voice, active listening, but also being honest and realistic that, with competing interests, not everyone will get everything they want.

5. Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

First, my husband is an avid bicyclist who loves when traveling to explore on a bicycle. My own memorable experience was the 17 Mile Drive in Monterey. Also, I have two grandchildren living in San Diego. I look at bicycling through their eyes. How do we make this city accessible for them to be safe bicycling in their own neighborhood and, when they grow-up, being able to bike to work, and to explore the city and our amazing backcountry.

 


Candidate: Todd Gloria —

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience
in San Diego for residents and families?

Road repair. Poorly maintained roads mean poor biking conditions. I fought to enact and
protect SB 1 funding which more than doubles the amount of annual funding from the state
that goes to City of San Diego roads. My administration will ensure that those funds are used
to fix our streets and make them safer for cyclists.

Complete Streets. I believe we should prioritize the creation of more complete streets
throughout our city and where appropriate. These safer street designs, including separated
lanes, can make our roadways safer for all forms of mobility.

Complete the network of bike lanes planned throughout the region. As Mayor, I will use the
authority afforded by AB 805 at SANDAG to ensure that the network of regional bike lanes is
prioritized.

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to
create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be
restriped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the
bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan
mode share targets?

During my time in the State Assembly, we passed Senate Bill 1 to fund road repair and
infrastructure improvements at the local level. With this increased funding coming to the City,
my administration will focus these dollars on those projects and look to provide the
infrastructure necessary to give San Diegans more choices on how to get around our city. In
addition, I intend to use the authority granted to the City under AB 805 to take leadership roles
at SANDAG. This is crucial to make the necessary investments to not only build a world-class
public transportation system, but to also give San Diegans more mobility choices.

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The
City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18%
by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or
exceeded?

I envision a clean transportation future for the City of San Diego and I will fight to enact strategies that offer true mobility options, reduce congestion, conform to the City’s Climate Action Plan and prioritize safety while encouraging economic growth. We are currently at a crossroads where infrastructure needs are growing, transit ridership is declining, and the disastrous effects of climate change pose a real and imminent threat. San Diego must begin to take transformative action immediately. By prioritizing clean transportation options and leveraging the City’s assets and regional influence, I will be a Mayor that prioritizes a world- class transit system, connected communities with safe walkable and bikeable streets, along with freshly paved local roads. Together these will make up a network to serve our 1.3 million residents and the millions of additional people that enter the City each day to work, patronize local restaurants and businesses, and recreate at our parks and beaches.

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking.
How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or
delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

In order to meet our climate action goals, the City needs to invest far more aggressively in
separated bike lanes and other infrastructure throughout the City in order to encourage
bicycles and other non-motorized transportation options as a safe alternative to driving. Of
course whenever such changes are proposed in any community all stakeholders should be
heard and have an opportunity to weigh-in so the best decisions can be made. Careful
consideration should also be made as to how the loss of parking spaces can be mitigated by
installing angled parking on nearby side streets, which can often make up for many of the lost
spaces. This has been the case in my experience, when parking was removed on Park Boulevard
for the Rapid Bus lane, and on University Avenue for dedicated bike lanes.

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

I have enjoyed biking to work, whether as part of an organized event or on my own to promote
clean transportation and get some exercise. Riding up 5th Avenue from Downtown through
some of my favorite neighborhoods is always a good experience for me.


2020 SD City Council Candidate Responses

2020 City Council Questionnaire - District 3: Duran, Olsen, Whitburn

2020 SD City Council Candidate Responses

Candidate: Toni Duran —

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 1 for residents and families?

My top 3 priorities will be:

  • Addressing the deferred maintenance of our streets and other infrastructure.
  • Funding the mobility plans for downtown and other high-density areas that include car alternatives such as bicycles.
  • Supporting low-income, minority, or youth programs that encourage bicycling and healthy living.
2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be re striped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

We need to look at the data of the most impacted/dangerous areas and the areas most in need of safe infrastructure expansion. We will be able to review data from the shared mobility devices (scooters or bikes) and this data should help inform the networks that need to be built out, expanded and funded.

I will work closely with the City of San Diego’s Mobility Advisory Board, town councils, planning groups, community stakeholders and the Mayor’s office to advocate for funding for car alternative infrastructure.

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

I support our city’s Climate Action Plan. My priority is to ensure these plans are effectively implemented. This implementation should put every idea on the table to address the global climate crisis.

We must transition our region to the point where traveling on mass transit or other alternative means of transportation is as convenient, affordable, and safe as driving a car. We need real strategies for reducing our reliance on cars, including convenient transit and responsible alternative modes of transportation.

I will insist upon regular updates from city staff on progress that includes proposed solutions to any barriers and challenges.

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

It is important to not create an either/or scenario that pits those who need parking against those who want safe roads for alternative modes of transportation. We need to listen closely to everyone’s priorities and concerns.

We need to be proactive and creative about finding compromise and solutions. Let’s continue to keep the dialogue going for the future, and not shut people down just because their lived experience may be different.

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

Not everyone has the ability or the privilege to ride, or learn how to ride, a bicycle. Additionally, some people rely on their bicycle as their only means of affordable transportation. I got my first bike when I was about 8 years old. We lived in Seattle at the time and I remember that it rained quite a bit, so when it cleared up I was able to go outside and play or ride around with friends. I vividly remember one day the sun came out after it had rained for several days. We had been stuck inside for so long. So my Mom, a friend and her Mom and I all took a ride throughout the neighborhood. I remember the freedom I felt peddling with the wind at my face. That was a good day.

 


Candidate: Chris Olsen —

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience
in your Council District for residents and families?

Construct fully protected Class IV bicycle lanes - including, but not limited to, along 30th Street from Howard to Juniper (Option A for all segments), closing the Hillcrest gap along University between First and Park Blvd.; 2) achieve full funding and construction of all three phases of the Downtown Mobility Plan; 3) Work to achieve the plans laid out by the previous Bicycle Advisory Board which developed an implementation plan for the City’s Bicycle Master Plan to better optimize funding availability (including combining funding sources as described below), better coordinate opportunities to create complete streets when streets are resurfaced, and better coordinate with SANDAG regional bike project implementation.

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be restriped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

I agree with all the points made in the preamble to this question and I believe my experience in local government, specifically at the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst for the past five-and-a-half years, has given me the skills necessary to lead on the Council in making the City work smarter and more creatively in securing funding for essential bike infrastructure. Funding sources I propose for meeting our Vision Zero, CAP, and Bicycle Master Plan commitments include using Development Impact Fees, TransNet, the City’s Infrastructure Fund, Parking District funds, state and regional grants, and direct General Fund support. We need to better coordinate the timing and availability of these funds to match them with eligible projects and combine them in strategic ways. Additionally, all street resurfacing projects should be designed and budgeted to include complete street infrastructure (such as restriping for bike lanes) so that we may maximize our public dollars, efficiently use the time of our City crews, and minimize disruption to neighbors by completing both resurfacing and restriping at the same time.

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

Increasing rider safety is the most important step we can take to increase bicycle mode share in San Diego. Ultimately, prioritizing bikes and pedestrian improvements over car infrastructure, we can begin to create a built environment that is welcoming to the vast majority of new potential bicycle commuters who are concerned about riding due to safety concerns and encourages existing bicycle commuters to increase their current level of bike trips. The priorities listed above, along with the funding proposals listed above, will make a significant impact in improving rider safety. That improved sense of security will be essential in increasing ridership and ultimately ensuring compliance with our CAP. We need leadership on the Council on bicycle issues and, as a D3 candidate, I have consistently taken a stand on projects such as the 30th Street bike lanes that require bold leadership rather than indecisiveness. We cannot continue to sign onto plans that commit us to improving ridership and reducing GHG emissions and then later hesitate to implement the projects that will achieve those targets. I commit to advocating for, and finding funding to implement, projects that will help us meet and exceed our mode share goals. I look forward to the opportunity to work together with BikeSD to better educate myself on your priorities and advance them on the Council as your partner.

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

Extensive outreach and inclusion is absolutely essential in welcoming change (even positive change) to a neighborhood. When all parties are heard, success in project implementation is far more likely. When it comes to safe bike lanes, I support efforts such as the Safe Ride on 30th demonstration where hundreds of bicyclists of all ages, including families, created a human safe lane to show support for the 30th street protected lanes. I was proud to participate in that demonstration. It was a perfect example of community coming together to show the very real safety benefit to riders and the minimal impact to drivers. Community concerns about parking loss can be addressed by adding parking on side streets and more appropriate areas for safety. Other concerns about parking loss from the business community can be addressed with educational efforts on research that shows commercial districts benefit from the activated pedestrian-oriented spaces that bike projects create, even the continued implementation of technologies like adaptive parking meters. At the end of the day, however, I will always advocate for projects that advance our policy goals, especially those related to the Climate Action Plan. We cannot combat climate change without doing everything we can at the local level to make it safer for San Diegans to bike, walk, and take transit.

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

The Safe Rides on 30th Street demonstration was an empowering experience for me that demonstrated the ability of a community to organize on a grassroots level and show, with action, that safety for bicyclists is a civic right that can’t be delayed any longer. I particularly remember that as we rode, not one single car driver honked his or her horn. Quite the opposite, I remember getting many thumbs-ups and cheers. That day was one of my most memorable recent bicycling experiences.

An additional memory I have of bicycling isn’t tied to one specific moment but rather a general sense of freedom and nostalgia related to biking home from school in elementary, middle, and high school. To this day, on the days I commute home from work (from downtown to Hillcrest) by bike, I have that immediate rush of freedom, nostalgia, and contentment when I hop on my bike. There is a sense of freedom and engagement with my surrounding streetscape and community I feel when I’m on my bike versus in my car. It’s like I’m a kid again. I believe part of our messaging as a bicycling community should be focused on this undeniable fact that in addition to being good for the environment, biking is just plain fun.

 


Candidate: Stephen Whitburn

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 3 for residents and families?

• Connect a network of bike lanes so riders can remain safe from the start of their trip to their
destination
• Repave uneven streets and fix potholes to reduce the risk of rider injuries or equipment damage
• Ensure speed limits promote pedestrian and bicycle safety

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be restriped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

SANDAG should fulfill its prior funding commitments, and City infrastructure expenditures should include projects advancing bicyclist safety as a priority.

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

More people would bicycle to their destinations if they felt safe doing so. A network of safe bike lanes on smooth streets with reasonable speed limits would inspire more people to commute by bike. To incentivize the change in commuting habits, the City should use a portion of its parking revenues to subsidize commuter bicycle and equipment purchases as other cities have done.

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

All sides should be included, heard, and respected, and concerns should be mitigated where practical. This requires time and outreach. Still, it’s more efficient than processes resulting in one side feeling unheard which often leads to lawsuits, higher costs, and longer timelines.

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

I have fond memories as an 11–12-year-old paper boy deftly navigating my bicycle around tight corners in dense apartment complexes while tossing rolled-up newspapers onto doorsteps.


2020 District 7 City Council Questionnaire: Monty A. McIntyre

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 1 for residents and families?

1. Maintain bike lanes so they are free of potholes, ruts or significant cracks.
2. Coordinate restriping when streets are resurfaced.
3. Support the continuing construction of proposed bike lanes.

 

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be re striped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

We need to make the project approval process more predictable, faster and customer-friendly.
We will need to find new revenue sources to build-out the bicycle network.

 

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

We need to creatively look for ways to incentivize people to move to neighborhoods where they can work, work at home, or work at a place close to their home that they can bike to.

 

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

We need to educate our citizens about the benefits of bike lanes and using bikes for transportation as an alternative to cars. Also, we need to make the project approval process more predictable, faster and customer-friendly, while ensuring all impacted residents have an opportunity to be heard.

 

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

When I was in college, a firefighter friend named Ken, who rode his bike to work every day, suggested that we go on a bike ride from where I lived near Avocado Boulevard in La Mesa to Auga Caliente Hot Springs. Thinking I was in great shape because I exercised and ran regularly, I agreed. I rode my bike a little to get ready, but not regularly like Ken did. I had no idea, however, what I was getting myself into!
One weekend morning we made the ride. We rode from La Mesa up to Julian. There were many times going up the mountain to Julian that I had to stop and rest. I wondered if I would ever make it. I hung in there, Ken was patient with me, and we ultimately made it to Julian. We then rode full speed down Banner Grade to get to Auga Caliente Hot Springs. That was a blast! I don't think I've ever gone so fast on a bike! By the time we made it to Auga Caliente Hot Springs I was exhausted. We enjoyed camping there for the weekend, but we decided to put our bikes in the truck and enjoy the drive home when we returned to San Diego!


2020 District 1 City Council Questionnaire: Louis Rodolico

1) What are your top 3 priorities for improving the biking experience in District 1 for residents and families?

Complete our road system in University by building the Regents Road Bridge and the planned Governor to Gillman connector. Both projects with bike and pedestrian lanes. Segregate; bikes, pedestrians and cars as much as possible.

 

2) San Diego’s Bicycle Master Plan needs updating and projects need prioritizing in order to create a complete bicycle network. A large number of street resurfacing projects need to be re striped with bicycle infrastructure. How would you propose to fund the full build-out of the bicycle network needed to achieve the Vision Zero goals and meet the Climate Action Plan mode share targets?

SANDAG has bike projects in their plans but they keep putting these projects off. Complete our road system in University by building the Regents Road Bridge and the planned Governor to Gillman connector. Both projects with bike and pedestrian lanes.

 

3) Transportation is the largest source of San Diego’s greenhouse gas emissions (55%). The City’s Climate Action Plan bicycle mode share goals are 6% of commuter trips by 2020 and 18% by 2035, from about 1% today. What steps will you take to make sure these goals are met or exceeded?

The Climate Action Plan is turning out to be a talking point. Bikes are not for the wealthy so bikers have little clout in San Diego. Stop removing bike and pedestrian access. Also there is no direct route from University to La Jolla. Add a bike pedestrian link along route 52 partially through Marian Bear Park aka San Clemente Canyon. Complete Regents Road Bridge and Governor to Gillman connector with bike and pedestrian lanes.

 

4) Safe bike lanes often face opposition due to slower road speeds or reduced street parking. How would you work with the community to address concerns without compromising safety or delaying bike infrastructure in the name of consensus?

I would remind voters that we are talking about their families and their children using these bike lanes. Providing a barrier or distance between cars and bikes is a priority, consider pushing parking out next to car traffic and having bikes between parked cars and the pedestrian sidewalk.

 

5) Please share a memorable experience(s) you have of bicycling.

Walking my dog in Rose Canyon I saw a cyclist approaching me so I moved to one side. I did not see three bikes approaching from my rear. The cyclist approaching me from the front did not slow down and damaged my shoulder when he passed, he continued on and did not stop. We need to segregate; cars, bikes and pedestrians and we need to do it as soon as possible.