A recent San Diego County Civil Grand Jury report highlights the challenges faced when traveling by bicycle and urges local jurisdictions to improve the region’s bicycle network, including expansion and interconnection of bike lanes.The San Diego County Civil Grand Jury is an independent body of 19 citizens that investigates citizen complaints. The group audits local government operations, evaluating the efficiency of city and county agencies.The Grand Jury’s report, Shifting Gears: San Diego Peddles Bicycle Mobility Through a City Dominated by Cars, has been hailed by several cycling groups, including the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, BikeSD, Circulate Planning & Policy, Families for Safe Streets San Diego and Climate Action Campaign. Cyclists insist it is a major step forward in encouraging people to get out of greenhouse-gas emitting cars, and into more active, healthy and less polluting travel modes like bicycling and mass transit.“We are grateful for the grand jury report, which outlines what anyone who gets on a bike in the city knows: in many places the infrastructure is inadequate, the streets are dangerous, and maintenance is lacking,” said Ian Hembree, advocacy and community manager for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition. “We hope our elected officials take these recommendations seriously, and continue supporting safer, more multi-modal streets for all.”“Reaching 10% bicycle mode share by 2035 will require more than ambitious targets,” said Anar Salayev, executive director of BikeSD. “It will require building a transportation system that ordinary people trust enough to use. The Grand Jury has provided a detailed assessment of where San Diego stands today. What happens next depends on whether we have the resolve and political will to turn those findings into action.”“The City’s Climate Action Plan shows that 57% of greenhouse gas emissions come from vehicles and driving, yet they’ve made barely any progress toward their 10% bicycle mode share goal that would help reduce these emissions,” said Anthony Dang, policy and community outreach manager at Climate Action Campaign. “The Grand Jury’s report recommendations need to be implemented if the city is to reach its climate goals and create safer communities.”“Families for Safe Streets San Diego knows what happens when there are gaps in the bike network and plans without implementation. People die, families are shattered, and lives are cut short,” warned Laura Keenan, co-founder of Families for Safe Streets San Diego.“Council President LaCava and other council members submit their responses for the Grand Jury to the Independent Budget Analyst,” said council communications director Chris Chan, who said it’s premature to comment yet on the Grand Jury’s report. “LaCava and other council members submit their responses for the Grand Jury to the Independent Budget Analyst,” Chan said. “The IBA compiles them and creates an official response which will come to the committee, and then the City Council in the next few months.”Maintenance of bike lanes and their expansion have been a hot-button issue in San Diego for many years. Unlike the bicycling community, which actively supports bike-network expansion, formal opposition to adding more bike lanes typically comes from ad-hoc local merchant groups, neighborhood coalitions, and specific community associations rather than major civic institutions. Opposition typically centers around the loss of street parking and traffic-lane reductions.To take the community’s “pulse” on bike lanes and their proposed expansion versus preservation of vehicular parking citywide, Times of San Diego conducted a “shout out” on social media for residents’ views.Here’s what people had to say:Restaurateur Mark Oliver of Pueblo in Pacific Beach doubts that mixing bike lanes with car traffic is ever going to be safe enough to consider on a broad scale. “The city will never have enough surplus money to budget for maintaining and increasing bike lanes on the scale of the Grand Jury recommendations,” Oliver said. “Stop pretending that bikes will replace cars, trolleys, Uber, and buses. My recommendation would be to focus on bike lanes around schools, recreational areas, and scenic routes, some of which are already designated street routes.”Jim Baross, president of the California Association of Bicycling Organizations, offered a counter perspective. “If/when every motorist learns to behave as though bicycling belonged on public roadways, there would be less need for separated spaces,” he said. “Most people, and apparently this Grand Jury, seem to believe and act as though bicycling on public roads should be reserved for people using motor vehicles and that people should only ride where there are ‘bike lanes.’ Roads are for people, not only for people in cars. Public roads are to be shared between all people traveling lawfully.”Eleanor Mosca of La Jolla suggested adding more bike lanes would be putting the cart before the horse. “Before bike lanes are established, the roads where they are to go should be fully repaired,” she said. “Why put in a bike lane at great expense, and later repair the road and have to replace the bike lane a second time?”“[Bike lanes] are going to ruin our city,” warned Tim Hill of La Jolla. “Get it on the ballot to stop this colossal waste of money.”Laura Meldrum of PB believes there are other, higher priorities than bike lanes. “I’m all for making things better for cyclists, but not at the expense of so much,” she said. “We cannot afford more bike lanes if we have to close the restrooms in Mission Bay Park.”Alek Nagel of University City believes bicyclists need to pay up or shut up. “If bicyclists want bike lanes, they should pay for their use,” he said. “Our roads are terrible, and we are wasting millions on green lines and protected bike lanes for very few people.”The city of San Diego and other local jurisdictions are required by state law to provide formal written responses to the Grand Jury’s findings.
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