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.