For those who bike or walk to work in San Diego, get ready for some big changes. City leaders released a draft of their Downtown Mobility Plan last month and it is being hailed as a “game changer” by advocate groups.
The city plans to spend upwards of $64 million in an effort to make downtown San Diego a much more hospitable place for biking and walking. The plan calls for roughly 9.3 miles of protected bike lanes, over 5 miles of pedestrian greenways, and various other structures to network the entire two mile area together. If implemented, the city hopes to see a significant boost in modest 18% of bikers and pedestrians that use downtown currently.
Critics, however, are concerned about loss of downtown parking spaces. Roughly 700 spaces are expected to be removed, which many local businesses see as a major problem with San Diego’s Downtown Mobility Plan. Bicycle groups such as BikeSD say that the city is an almost perfect fit for such a mobility plan. A spokesperson for the group stated, “Downtown San Diego is a little unusual compared to the rest of the city in that it has almost a perfect urban grid. That grid gives you lots of choices of where to ride, but there’s not a lot of infrastructure.” Critics have also voiced concern with funding for the Downtown Mobility Plan project, which will mainly come from local sales tax and regional planning. Supporters hope the plan will ultimately lead to a safer downtown with less bicycle and pedestrian accidents each year.
Contact a Dedicated San Diego Attorney
If you have been involved in a bike or pedestrian accident or have questions concerning personal injury claims, please contact the dedicated attorneys at Jurewitz Law Group Injury & Accident Lawyers today. We have helped many injured San Diego residents get the financial settlement they need. You can reach us at (888) 233-5020.
