News, Links, and Other Views

Happy Monday! Time to check in and see what bicycling news has happened since the last edition of, News, Links, and Other Views.

San Diego

• Despite all the fuss around the Clairemont Drive road diet, people of Clairemont have survived the diet. Much thanks to Councilmember Lorie Zapf for voicing her support for the road diet. Send her a thank you (yes, it is belated. But better late than never) note by emailing her at: loriezapf@sandiego.gov
• What’s Standing in the Way of a Cross-Border Bike Lane?
• The eleventh edition of the Amgen Tour of California pro bike race starts for the men on Sunday, May 15 in San Diego, and for the women on Thursday, May 19 in South Lake Tahoe.
• The Amgen Tour of California route has been revealed. This explains why Friars Road suddenly looks so spiffy.
• Meanwhile in Tecolote Canyon, Mount Acadia Boulevard is filled with potholes which has resulted in drivers driving in the bike lane, illegally.
• Bill Walton Is All About the Bike (for the under 40 crowd, Walton is a basketball legend)
• Our marines didn’t seem to care for mountain bikers on the Miramar base and had confiscated bikes. In response, the San Diego Mountain Biking Association is addressed the problem. The bikes have now been returned.
• If you can figure out where the Miramar base boundaries lie, avoid it if you’re on a bike.
• Streamview Drive is going to get some long overdue love.
• After a skateboarder’s death, 54th Street will finally get a buffered bike lane.
• Pledge to go a year without a car.
• The Reader covers a handful of cases where local riders have been injured due to poor road conditions.
• New bike-sharing network struggling in San Diego. I speculate things will go much better, once the city starts implementing a network of bike infrastructure and law enforcement starts addressing egregious driving and speeding offenses.
• Bike theft is up in San Diego and bike thieves are getting smarter. Prevention is better than heartache. Learn how to lock and secure your bicycle properly. And if your bicycle does get stolen, call SDPD and report it lost.
• Despite all the money SANDAG spends on public relations and communications, residents in San Diego are still unaware of plans being proposed by SANDAG.
• Wabaska Drive is going to become a safe route to school
• Parking Reform in San Diego Starts in the Neighborhoods

San Diego County

• Bicycle riders and pedestrians are the eyes and ears on our streets. More people outside the motor vehicle keeps everyone safe as this story illustrates, Carlsbad mom reunites with cyclist who saved her life.
• Climate change denialism exists in San Diego County.
• Bike corrals are coming to Leucadia.
• Carlsbad’s leaders envision a bright future for their city which includes building a parking garage.
• After a 12 year old boy was killed after riding his bike to school, Oceanside City Council voted, after resident pressure, to widen bike lanes on Coast Highway. The pressure has resulted in a pilot project that is move in the right direction.
• Construction for the Bikeway Village in Imperial Beach has begun. It’s a development along the Bayshore Bikeway.
• Anti-bike residents protested the construction of a multi-use path that would connect Cardiff and Encinitas.
• If you want to ride north of Oceanside and don’t want to ride on the I-5 shoulder, barriers to riding through Camp Pendelton has gotten more stringent, because…of “incidents around the world.” In order to ride through the base, you have to “register and undergo the background check. Once approved, the bicyclist’s registration will be good for one year”. Contact the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition if you want to have this rule changed.
• In Coronado, like in the city of San Diego, bike baits are being used to nab bike thieves.
• La Mesa is en route to creating a network of 22.1 miles of trails for bicycling and walking.
• A ‘Complete street’ project is behind schedule in San Marcos.

California

• Want a bike lane in your neighborhood? It’s not so simple in California
• The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) Board voted to approve a pilot project to dedicate the scenic east side of Twin Peaks for people biking and walking. The two-year pilot project establishes a welcoming open space where people can enjoy the sweeping views of the city safely.

Elsewhere

• Amid cycling boom, penalties for errant drivers remain light.
• Louisville’s New Goal: Reduce Driving
• Vegan tacos via bicycle, in Tijuana.
• Black bicyclists in Tampa were more likely than whites to be stopped and ticketed by police, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday, adding that the citations didn’t reduce crime in the city.
• Owners of Big Parking Lots Have to Pay More in Northeast Ohio
• After Countings Cars for Ages, Dallas Starts to Count Walkers and Bikers, more than three years after San Diego started to count walkers and bicycle riders.
• Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney has proposed a tax on soda and other sugary drinks that contribute to obesity and poor health, and using the money to pay for public improvements, including bike trails.
• Annual Bike-Share Passes Now Cost Just $5 for Low-Income D.C. Residents
• Three easy ways small businesses can be bike-friendly
• Surprise: protecting bike lanes can cut the cost of brand-new roads
• We don’t need self-driving cars – we need to ditch our vehicles entirely
• Do mountain bikes belong in the wild? Battle brewing over bike access to federal land
• Why Do People Drive When They Don’t Want To? “[T]he decisions of planners and developers over the last several decades have created a land use pattern that essentially locks in transportation choices for all future residents, who are now stuck commuting in ways they say they’d rather not.” In other words, social engineering.