citymaus

“A $200 million plan to build 77 miles of bike lanes and pedestrian improvements throughout the San Diego region by 2023 is now behind schedule and millions of dollars over budget.

Top planning officials with the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) — which took up the ambitious project in 2013 — said that unforeseen delays in project approvals and rising construction costs are largely to blame. 

The agency has so far spent more than $123 million on the program — having completed 8.8 miles of lanes, with 16.1 miles under construction and another 44.7 miles in the design phase.

The 70-mile program includes 33 separate projects, such as upgrades to the Bayshore Bikeway, Coastal Rail Trail, Inland Rail Trail and a host of lanes within the city of San Diego.

Many of the proposed lanes would be protected from car traffic using either concrete curbs, parked cars or plastic bollards. Some are paths completely separated from road networks. A number of the projects include traffic circles and overhauled pedestrian crossings with flashing lights.

“Fifty-one of the 70 miles of bike lanes planned by SANDAG are located in the city of San Diego. Of the nearly 9 miles so far completed, about 3 miles have been constructed in the city, including a small segment of the Bayshore Bikeway and a path along state Route 15 that connects Kensington and Mission Valley.”

read more: sd-ut, 28.10.19. 

ya i would not feel proud working at sandag. 

scootscoop has deals with 250 local businesses to remove scooters; it has towed more than 12,500 in san diego. 

“Dan Borelli, who owns a bike rental shop called Boardwalk Electric Rides in Pacific Beach, said the scooters frequently blocked the entrance to his store. In July 2018, he teamed up with John Heinkel, owner of a local towing company, to haul away scooters that they deemed to be parked on private property. They charge Bird, Lime and others a retrieval fee of $50 per scooter, plus $2 for each day of storage.”

read more: nytimes, 04.09.19.

damage on highway 178 from 6.4 earthquake in ridgecrest, california on the fourth of july. 

via “california governor newsom declares state of emergency after southern california earthquake.” associatedpress, 04.07.19.

the place is called ridgecrest. 

“The lawsuit filed in Orange County Superior Court by Attorney General Xavier Becerra alleges the Huntington Beach City Council, after developing a housing plan in 2013 that met state standards for affordable housing, amended that plan to drastically cut the number of housing units being built.

A state agency ruled Huntington Beach out of compliance in 2015. State law requires cities and counties to adopt housing plans that allow housing for a range of income levels. 

The lawsuit seeks to force Huntington Beach to include more housing that a wide range of residents can afford in its housing plan. It’s the first to be filed under a 2018 law that allows the state to revoke a city’s or county’s housing plan and refer noncompliance cases to the attorney general for litigation.

In 2016, Huntington Beach council members voted to scuttle a plan to meet state housing requirements after more than 200 people filled City Hall to oppose adding high-density and low-income housing.

“I urge you to deny any and all action that would amend the housing element or anything that would add one monstrosity development,” resident Cari Swan said at the time.

scag rhna. 

“With many Californians struggling to find affordable homes, Governor Gavin Newsom, who took office this month, allocated $500 million in his first budget in incentives for cities that allow new housing and $250 million for technical help for cities to change zoning and speed up permitting so new homes can be built.

The proposed budget also contains $1 billion for housing construction.

With the carrots comes a stick. Newsom has threatened to withhold transportation money for cities that don’t meet affordable housing targets.

Newsom “has been very clear from the beginning he is done playing small ball on housing,” said David Garcia, policy director at the UC Berkeley Terner Center for Housing Innovation.

The Huntington Beach lawsuit, Garcia added, “(is) going to give cities pause when they are feeling pressured by their residents to reduce their share of planned housing.””

read more: ocregister, 28.01.19. 

in oregon, metro—the elected regional government, has strong powers to litigate and withhold transportation funding to cities/jurisdictions that don’t build their fair share of housing. stronger than what california governor gavin newsom is currently trying to do. 

weekend rides. 

angeles national forest. 

“The San Diego Association of Governments has spent $61 million on a program to accelerate high-priority bike projects, but has delivered less than four miles of those projects so far.

The figures were released in a staff report to two of the agency's committees last week. The bike projects are part of an "Early Action Program" approved in 2013 that aims to build 28 high-priority bikeways spread across the county. SANDAG has opened 3.7 miles of those planned bike facilities to traffic.

SANDAG principal planner Linda Culp said much of the $61 million has been spent on projects that are still in the design phase.

photo: flickr/missmae

“None of the bike projects SANDAG has opened to traffic so far is among the top five highest-priority projects in the early action program. The two highest priority projects — networks of bike lanes in Uptown, North Park and Mid-City — have faced multiple delays.

A presentation from February 2014 on the North Park and Mid-City bikeways estimated construction would start in winter 2015. A program budget released the following year pushed the start date to mid-2016. SANDAG now estimates those projects will start construction between October and November this year.”

read more: kbps, 10.01.18. 

confirms my college senior research project (2012) that san diego is slow.

glad i didn’t stick around. i’d feel like i’d have a pointless job, trying to plan/build bicycle infrastructure in such a politically lame landscape. 

and re: the North Park and Mid-City bikeways: so fucking lame—they want to route people to bike off the main street University Avenue when that’s actually the most direct route connecting a bunch of neighborhoods

mandeville canyon fire road, los angeles. 

splayed shipping containers form joshua tree residence conceived by james whitaker. 

via dezeen, 26.09.17.

toward an active california: state bicycle & pedestrian plan. draft 02.2017. 

california/caltrans’ first ever statewide bike plan is here!  review the draft and comment on it here. you can insert your comments next to any line or paragraph.  catch a public workshop in norcal (san jose, 26.02.17), central california (fresno, 27.02.17), or socal (santa ana, 01.03.17), or view a webinar from anywhere. more info here. 

coast: santa monica’s open streets event. 9am-3pm this sunday, 05.06.16.

ocean avenue, colorado esplanade, and main street. 

latimes, 04.05.16.

sometimes, you should scroll down to the comments. 

“The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) sent a last-minute letter attempting to delay progressive updates to California’s outdated environmental standards.

SCAG wants Measure R highway expansion projects, among others, grandfathered past new CEQA rules.

In the letter [PDF], —the regional transportation planning organization for much of southern California—requested exemptions for highway expansion projects and freight corridors from proposed state rules that could show their true environmental impact in a way that old rules do not...

The deadline for comments (on the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research [OPR] rule change to from Level of Service [LOS] to Vehicle Miles Traveled [VMT]) was February 29, and SCAG’s letter came in just under the wire. In it, SCAG requests that OPR limit the new VMT measure to projects that are close to transit, and also to “grandfather in” highway expansion and freight corridor projects that have already been approved in planning documents.

“In other words,” said Amanda Eakin of the Natural Resources Defense Council, “SCAG is saying not to apply the VMT metric to the projects that are most likely to cause more VMT.”

To the NRDC, SCAG’s request makes no sense. “As a state,” she said, “we’ve acknowledged all the problems with LOS, and have agreed to move to a new measure that can promote greenhouse gas reductions and other environmental goals. It makes no sense to apply the new metric to only certain projects.”

OPR is currently proposing a pretty generous two-year opt-in period, during which cities, counties, and regions can “adjust their internal systems” to meet the new rules... If SCAG and others really need more than two years to adjust, they should be more specific about why, rather than just ask for a blanket dispensation for certain projects.”

read more: cal.streetsblog, 14.03.16. images from presentation: “SB 743 Legislative Intent, versus CEQA Practice” by fehr&peers, 2015.  previously: “San Francisco is first in state to adopt new guidelines.” sf.streetsblog, 10.03.16.

San Diego's first road diet—buffered bike lanes on 4th and 5th Avenues from Elm to Laurel Streets in Bankers Hill! 

via bikesd, 08.05.14.

the streets were previously 3 vehicle lanes wide (one-way streets) flanked by parking on both sides—quite a wide street that never reaches peak capacity except for when there's some big event at Balboa Park.

glad to see san diego's bike plan and regional bike plan are (slowly) on the way! and my neighborhood stepped it up, unlike hillcrest where the leaders are nimby and refuse to change university ave..

i emailed Beth Robrahn, SANDAG's project manager for this, asking why aren't they protected bike lanes (aka cycle tracks) instead of buffered bike lanes (where there will still be conflicts between cyclists and cars trying to park). she wrote back:

cicloSDias in Pacific Beach, 30.03.14. more photos: awlf.

that looks like a really short route.. but at least PB gets a taste of carfree streets.

aaah i do miss those blue skies.. and hi sam (of bikeSD)!  

"Even when I was a kid, so much of the illusory “prosperity” of the city has been fueled by land grabs. It’s been politicians taking land and selling it to developers at below market value, who in turn pay off the politicians and develop the land for resale. All without paying the full cost of things like maintaining sewer and water and roads far from central areas of the city.

That’s the core underlying story of development in Southern California and that’s shaped our communities.

There are people who are trying to change that, but they’re outgunned by money.

A great example of this is back in 2010, when the city indicated that they didn’t want big-box stores and Walmart just steamrolled through the process and got in anyway. Yes, Walmart pushed that through, but the City Council was complicit. It didn’t go to a vote or anything. City Council just rolled over...

I don’t want to say that the city can never improve, but I think it’s a really long process. The progress is not very impressive.

So, for me, I want to live in a place that supports the things that city dwellers value."

read more of the interview: vosd, 06.02.14.

"UPDATE 8:30PM MAR 4th

I REGRET TO REPORT THAT THE MARATHON CRASH RACE IS CANCELLED.

Today. the Chief of Investigation and Enforcement of the City of Los Angeles Bureau of Street Services made contact with Wolfpack Hustle and demanded that this event be cancelled or we may face criminal charges and bear liability for the costs of enforcement. This comes as a shock and disappointment.

We have requested an expedited permit be granted but have been told initially that it is not possible at this point for one to be granted. Therefore we have no choice but to fully comply with the city’s demands and we strongly urge that everyone obey the city’s request not to engage in this event or any like it.

Though unpermitted, this event has enjoyed the support of the LAPD and city going into it’s fifth year now, Wolfpack Hustle has been cooperative, and had sought to partner with LAPD and all agencies. We’ve met with and cooperated with city officials on several occasions. For 2014, we’ve taken further measures to ensure that the participants are safe and to prevent any claims being made on the City of Los Angeles and other cities and agencies, via waivers, participant / competitor separation, and by purchasing event insurance.

This event has been in the planning for at least one year, and builds on a community tradition referred to above. To threaten criminal prosecution 5 days prior to the event taking place comes as a shock and disappointment: The city is now demanding permits and payments where it has never done so in the past.

THE MARATHON CRASH RACE IS CANCELLED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COOPERATION."

–wolfpackhustle.

latimes, 05.03.14.

that sucks... the wolfpack hustle marathon crash is still on my list of rides to do if/when i'm in socal at the corresponding time. i gotta ride my fixie more.