San Diego to plan $2.58 billion for bike/ped infrastructure

SANDAG’s 2050 RTP

Jay Blazek Crossley, Mar 29, 11.

The San Diego Council of Governments (SANDAG) has proposed spending $2.58 billion on bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure in its $110.7 billion 2050 Regional Transportation Plan, according to Sign On San Diego.

The developments are the results of an attempt to meet federal clean air regulations by allowing more transportation options, as noted by Sign On San Diego:

While the transportation funds are largely drawn from the local TransNet sales tax, influencing this plan are new government air quality regulations aimed at cleaning up the atmosphere. Two ways that those goals can be met are by developing more mass transit and elimination of highway bottlenecks. But regional planners also bet that in the land of sunshine more people will willingly get out of their cars and walk or bicycle, if the road ahead is made safe and attractive enough.

While 80 percent of the county’s commuters still ride alone in their vehicles, SANDAG estimates that 76,000 cyclists commute daily to work, schools and colleges. In a year’s time, they account for 94 million miles not driven by cars.

While regional trails have already received much emphasis in San Diego and many regions, the article notes that deploying true bicycle infrastructure integrated throughout the region will be a change:

Most cyclists asked say that yes, San Diego County is great for recreational bikes, off-road trail riders, North County pro and touring cyclists and the like. But journey into denser urban areas, the story changes a bit — narrow and poorly marked roads, intense vehicle traffic, a scarcity of bicycle racks and a culture that prizes cars over bikes make commuting a sometimes dicey adventure.

The great bicycling cities found regularly on every list — Portland, Davis, Long Beach, San Francisco and New York City — have embraced bicycling and carved a space for it on their streets.

Photo Credit: tibchris (Flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)