A summer ride to Ruffin Road in Linda Vista to see the Garden
BikeSD Board Members, Nicole and Natalie, led a fun ride to Ruffin Road to visit an amazing food garden in the heart of Kearny Mesa. The day was fabulous and many thanks to all the riders that came out.
Meeting in Old Town with a diverse group of bikes and riders, we first headed through Morena Blvd and I-8 intersections. We encountered fast vehicles and this became one of least favorite segments of the ride. I'm happy to say that Caltrans is painting new striping throughout the small corridor but unfortunately, I don’t think it will make it more comfortable nor safer.
We ventured up Linda Vista Road, Aero Drive, Kearny Villa Road, and Balboa Ave to Ruffin Road, enjoying the sights and neighborhoods along the way.
When we arrived, we enjoyed walking through the garden seeing the plentiful fruit, birds, flowers, bees, and more. We learned about sustainable practices in the garden and on the property. We grilled up delicious open-faced zucchini sandwiches with homegrown tomatoes, Bitchin Sauce, and arugula. Dessert was grilled raisin challah bread with almond butter. All very tasty!
After a nice visit with property owner Peter Aardema, beekeeper James MacDonald, and gardener Paula Gandalfo, we headed off in different directions. Brother Pete biked back to Solana Beach, a couple with electric bike-pods headed east to El Cajon, the Pacific Beach group headed west out Aero Drive, and the rest went down through Qualcomm and west along the San Diego River.
Thank you to all that joined to make it a successful and memorable day. BikeSD looks forward to hosting more rides to the garden. Stay tuned and join us for the next ride.
Ruffin Road bike lanes are almost here
Thanks to the eagle eyes of BikeSD reader, Everett, we all may actually get those bike lanes on Ruffin Road by the end of the month as promised:
Everett notes that the photo was taken on the Northbound section of Ruffin. He just saw the spray trucks working on the Southbound section of Ruffin Road. With a smooth road surface, these bike lanes will be a joy to ride on. Next step? A buffer next to the bike lane to get even more people riding comfortably on that section of Ruffin Road.
Ruffin Road Bike Lanes Update: Partially Striped
Reader and local cyclist, Michael Ballard, just wrote in to state that Ruffin Road has been partially striped with a bike lane from Clairemont Mesa Blvd to Kearny Villa Rd along Ruffin Road. This is excellent news and I look forward to seeing the rest of Ruffin Road striped with a bike lane before the end of the month.
If you have photos or other updates, leave a comment or email admin@bikesd.org.
Open Thread: Ruffin Road Bike Lane Striping
Use this space as an open thread to discuss the Ruffin Road bike lane striping. Have you noticed any changes while riding the road? Do you have any photos showing new markings? How do you think the recent rains will affect the proposed completion date?
Previous coverage on the Ruffin Road bike lane striping
UPDATE: Earlier today Council Member Lorie Zapf of District 6 promised to follow up by stating this on twitter,
[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/LorieZapfD6/status/169149324045975552"]
She did and received a response from the City's project manager,
[blackbirdpie url="https://twitter.com/#!/LorieZapfD6/status/169175344916606976"]
So we have another 16 days before these bike lanes will be ready for use. Please to leave a comment if you see anything change or learn anything else before the end of the month
Ruffin Road bike lane striping delayed, again
To get an update on what is turning out to be an epic saga, I emailed Gaetano Martedi from the Public Works Engineering Department to get a status on the Ruffin Road bike lanes. I also included District 6 Councilmember, Lori Zapf, and our bike coordinator, Tom Landre, in the discussion. I received a response from Mr. Martedi stating that the bike lane striping would be delayed yet again,
The reason for the extension of time is as follows:
The engineering design standards were recently updated and changed. Therefore, the City needed to find additional funds to implement the new standards and complete the project. Currently, the additional funds have been attained and the project can now be completed. Our new schedule is to stripe bike lanes and complete the work in February, 2012.
This is a stretch of road that should have been striped last August, but was then delayed to January 2012. It will truly be a miracle of the year if and when this stretch of Ruffin Road gets a bike lane in 2012.