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