SR-52 Bike Path now Open

A reader, Evan, had written in with a question,

I have not ridden on the 52 bike lane before but tried to get on it at Santo Rd going east. I noticed a sign that says bicycles are prohibited. When did this happen? I could not find any information regarding this closure in the local San Diego government or Caltrans links/websites. Thanks for any information that you may have. I wasn’t sure who I should ask about this.

I received an answer from Caltrans via our bicycle coordinator, Seth Cutter, and Jake Aquino with the city’s Transportation and Stormwater Department which was,

The SR-52 Bike Lanes were closed because a Bike Path was created adjacent to the west bound lanes. The path was built as a freeway capacity increasing measure to build more lanes, which in turn reduced the shoulder widths on the freeway bridges. The path is barrier separated and the ingress/egress is at the end of Santo Rd. at the WB on/off ramps. I hope this answered you questions and enjoy the new Bike Path!