Action Item: Send a Letter to ask the City of San Diego to include Active Transportation Priorities in Final FY24 Budget

Honorable Mayor Gloria, 

With the Fiscal Year 2024 final budget quickly approaching, we would like to request that several items from Council District budget priority memos be included in this budget. These priorities were chosen by members of the community for the ways they will improve active transportation safety for users, increase ridership, and meet Climate Action Plan goals. 

Vital priorities that are highlighted across multiple councilmembers’ memos include the need for maintenance of our existing bikeways and greater physical protection for future class IV bikeways. 

Increase Bikeway Maintenance ($150,000): 

Potholes, poor pavement, and road debris pose a much greater threat to bicyclists than drivers. These hazards can seriously injure or kill bicyclists, while posing minimal risks to drivers. Transportation should dedicate a specific team of three staff members or contractors to conduct routine bikeway maintenance and respond to requests for service on bikeways. These staff members could be reassigned from existing staff, hired as contractors, or hired as new employees, depending on the city’s needs.

Install Physical Protection for All New Full-build Class IV Bikeways ($300,000 – $1.2 Million): 

Almost all recent Class IV bikeway projects in San Diego have used flexible bollards to separate bikeways from travel lanes. While flexible bollards are useful for demarcating space for bicyclists, they do not have any stopping power to prevent drivers from hitting bicyclists. All new full-build Class IV bikeways should use physical protection such as concrete curbs or inflexible bollards to separate bikeways from traffic lanes. This item would require increasing the Transportation Department’s budget for each new Class IV bikeway.

As the city currently spends approximately $200,000 per mile when implementing Class IV bikeways during resurfacing, this budget request would require $50,000 to $200,000 in additional funding per mile, depending on the type of physical protection implemented. The funding needed for this request would depend on the miles of Class IV bikeway planned for FY 2024. Based on the 5.6 miles of Class IV bikeway that Transportation has planned for FY 2023, total cost would be approximately $300,000 – $1.2 Million.

Along with these items, we ask that you also strongly consider the following district specific items that were mentioned in the budget memo. 

District 1

Complete Pacific Beach Pathways Phase 3 

Including the connection at Olney Street to the Campland entrance, the Cass Street component between Tourmaline Street and Pacific Beach Drive, and connection at Diamond, Fanuel and Reed Streets.

District 2

Construction of Morena Blvd Class IV Bikeways 

The Transportation Department is scheduled to construct bikeways on Morena Boulevard in conjunction with a pipeline replacement within the next several years. This is the most direct connection between neighborhoods South of Interstate 8 and the Pacific Beach, La Jolla, and University City communities, and as such, is an extremely popular route for cyclists despite the total lack of safe bicycle facilities. I urge the city to expedite this project as much as possible, as it has already been approved for Class IV cycle tracks within the Balboa Station Area Specific Plan and the Morena Corridor Specific Plan.

District 3

Complete Remaining Segments of Downtown Mobility Plan Bikeway Network 

Six years after the completion of San Diego’s 2016 Downtown Mobility Plan, significant sections of the proposed bikeway network remain incomplete. To unlock the enormous bicycle transportation potential of Downtown San Diego, the city should expedite the remaining uncompleted bike network segments, including Grape Street, Hawthorne Street, State Street, Park Boulevard, C Street, (between 6th Ave and Park Blvd), and Broadway. Filling these remaining gaps in the Downtown network would fulfill the vision of the Downtown Mobility Plan and allow cyclists to access most major destinations in Downtown San Diego in a separated bikeway facility.

Camino Del Rio South, from Mission Center Rd. to Montezuma Rd Bikes Facilities

This is a key connection that cyclists traveling through Mission Valley use to connect to neighborhoods South of Interstate 8. Crucially, it is the only Mission Valley access point to the SR-15 Commuter Bikeway, which is currently the only fully separated bike path connecting Mission Valley and Normal/City Heights. It is also a very dangerous road; on September 14, 2021, Matt Keenan was killed on this stretch of road while riding his bike. The city should consider implementing a Class IV bikeway or rapidly developing an alternative East/West route through Mission Valley. 

District 4

Euclid Ave/54th St. Complete Streets Improvements, from East Division St. to 54th St. 

National City recently installed a buffered and parking-protected bike lane on the section of Euclid Avenue within its city limits. The City should continue this separated bikeway on the remainder of Euclid Avenue and its continuation onto 54th Street to provide a safe and continuous bike facility along the full length of this corridor. 

District 5

Add physical protection to Camino del Norte

This 50 mile per hour road stretches three lanes across on each side, and currently only a line of paint separates bicycle users from this fast-moving traffic. Schools, residences, restaurants, and places of employment are connected by this road, and bike users would benefit greatly from the physical protection that class IV lanes would provide.

District 6

Nobel Drive

Nobel Drive serves as the major thoroughfare that cuts through University City. From west to east, it is lined by shops, homes, hotels, parks, and businesses. In the future, class IV protected bike lanes can connect to a protected bikeway on Genesee Avenue, providing a safe and comfortable path between University City and Clairemont. There are already plans to add protected bike lanes on Nobel Drive between Lebon and Genesee – this would complete the corridor throughout.

District 7

Build ten miles of critically needed safe bikeways during resurfacing, based on collision history and where potential ridership is the largest, including along Mission Gorge Rd, between Friars Rd and Alvarado Canyon Road.

District 8

Palm Avenue Revitalization Plan

The Palm Avenue Revitalization Plan includes strategies to promote economic development and improve vehicle, transit, pedestrian, and bicycle mobility along Palm Avenue between 13th Street and Hollister Street. 

District 9

Add Physical Protection on Montezuma Road Bike Lanes, from the Fairmount Bike

Path to College Avenue 

This is a key connection from the popular Fairmount Bike Path to SDSU that is used by many students. Particularly in the uphill (Eastbound) direction, physical protection should be added to separate the bike lane from the traffic lanes, where vehicular speeds regularly reach up to 60 mph.

We thank you for your commitment to active transportation, and for demonstrating your commitment to supporting safe streets and sustainable communities by allocating City resources to these projects. 

Sincerely,

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