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- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011 edited
Kelly Batten at District 6 told me in March that they would be in by the end of May. At the end of May she told me they would be in by September. Now Jack Straw has taken her place and the learning curve begins once again. I just spoke with him on the phone and he said that striping of the bike lane on Ruffin Rd. between KVR and Aero Drive is now underway after being delayed by a business that objected to the loss of on-street parking. He is researching the timeline for re-paving Road Rage Alley, that is, Murphy Canyon Rd. south of Stonecrest Blvd. where cyclists must take the lane to avoid unridable pavement at the risk of enraging bros driving pick'em up trucks in a BFH to stop at the metered signal at the on ramp to I-15 southbound. He is also checking with Stadium management to get the chainlink fence moved far enough west to allow cyclists to get to and from the bike path under Friars Rd. without dismounting. Jim Lundquist is also in the loop regarding these spots, so things should be moving forward at the usual glacial pace of City works.

Contact District 6 and Jim Lundquist to add your voices. Otherwise I come off as a lone voice crying out in the wilderness: jlundquist@sandiego.gov; District 6: (619) 533-6616
- CommentAuthormarkphilips
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011 edited
Just leaving a note for myself and others who live in Carlsbad

Carlsbad Bicycle Committee-First Meeting October 20
by San Diego County Bicycle Coalition on Thursday, 22 September 2011 at 09:45

Inaugural meeting of the Carlsbad Bicycle Committee. Please join us in making Carlsbad an official LAB Bicycle Friendly Community! Meeting agenda below.

Thursday, October 20, 2011
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Carlsbad Senior Center
Activity Room
799 Pine Avenue
Carlsbad, CA 92008

For more information, please contact:
Mick Calarco – (760) 434-2859, or Bryan Jones – (760) 602-2431

AGENDA:

Introduction

-Develop purpose

Forming a Carlsbad Bicycle Committee

-Membership?

-Recruitment?

-Committees?

-Structure?

-Chairperson, Vice Chairperson or Co-Chairperson and scribe?

-Board?

Potential Goals of the CBC

-Focus on Five E’s Engineering, Educations, Encouragement, Enforcement, and

Evaluation

-Help the City of Carlsbad become the 2nd LAB Bicycle Friendly Community in the San Diego region

-Assist the City with reviewing the current Bicycle Master Plan and potentially updating the BMP if determined necessary

-Identify ways to positively support, highlight, and promote biking in Carlsbad

-Inclusive to all forms of biking

-Help Facilitate and Promote May is Bike Month Activities

-Bring ideas to the City of Carlsbad and be a sounding board for the City of Carlsbad on bicycle issues

-Develop a work plan

-Member orientation/training
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011
Great to see another local municipality eager to jump on the cycling bandwagon. Poor, provincial old San Diego is being left behind with the other detritus of the 20th Century!

I rode up to Carlsbad yesterday afternoon just for the hell of it. I sure miss living at the beach!
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011
How about signage for the Murphy Canyon path? Not so much that it exists, but that SCOOTERS, MOPEDS, and MOTORCYCLES aren't allowed on it. I've seen a couple of them at least that do it daily. Curious... What fence? The path is accessible from San Diego Mission Rd and from the stadium parking lot.
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011
Maybe the fence is gone already? Pac, are you still encountering it in the dark on your way home?
- CommentAuthorPacMUle
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011
last time i rode it was last friday, and it was still there and in the same spot... sd_mike, the fence does not block the entrance to the path... hmmmm, how to explain. right as you get off the path, heading south when you go through the parking lot part, the fence separates the path from the lot. which would be fine except that they only left about 3 feet of rideable(sp?) space... the concrete is way munched up, tons of sand & thorns. i almost ran right into it when they first put it up cause i usually dart out into the lot to avoid all the aforementioned crap.... & though my lights are pretty bright i did not see it till i was right on top of it. i have no idea why it is there!?! i will be riding that way tonight & i'll update you guys as to weather its still there or not.
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeSep 30th 2011
There is no fence at the south end, it has been gone for about a week or so.
- CommentAuthorbilld
- CommentTimeOct 4th 2011
Blaming the Victims, Again by Bob Mionske
- CommentAuthorPaul
- CommentTimeOct 4th 2011
PacMUle:last time i rode it was last friday, and it was still there and in the same spot... sd_mike, the fence does not block the entrance to the path... hmmmm, how to explain. right as you get off the path, heading south when you go through the parking lot part, the fence separates the path from the lot. which would be fine except that they only left about 3 feet of rideable(sp?) space... the concrete is way munched up, tons of sand & thorns. i almost ran right into it when they first put it up cause i usually dart out into the lot to avoid all the aforementioned crap.... & though my lights are pretty bright i did not see it till i was right on top of it. i have no idea why it is there!?! i will be riding that way tonight & i'll update you guys as to weather its still there or not.

Confirmed, it has been gone since at least two weeks ago Thursday and everything is in ridable shape.
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeOct 4th 2011
I also put in a request for signage at the north end of the Murphy Canyon path. It has none and really needs something stating "no motor vehicles or motorcycles" and such. I got a response, but no action as yet. I also put in a request to remove the brush/tree partially blocking the NB Texas St bike lane near the top.
- CommentAuthorSam
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011 edited
Any thoughts on asking for a traffic light to be placed on the NB section of Montezuma and Fairmount? This would be to make the merge a little easier (for me, at least)

View Larger Map
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
I would say a bypass bridge similar to the one north of there would be best, otherwise a complete redesign of the junction would be necessary.
- CommentAuthorSam
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
^ So I asked Engineering to install a traffic light or construct a bypass bridge. Let's see how many lifetimes that takes to accomplish.

/begin snark

I'm sure there will be a lengthy public outreach process (defined as sending emails to the three people who live within 10 feet of that intersection as governed by MUNI code Section xys 930, subsection c. This includes the homeless guy who has troubled accessing his email on a regular basis and responding to it within the 3 day deadline), as well as an environment impact report to determine whether installing a traffic signal will affect the kangaroo mouse that was once seen 50 years ago underneath the other bypass bridge and now is dead and is blamed on bicyclists.

end snark/
- CommentAuthorSam
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
Oooh!! I got a response,

Your request for a traffic signal at this location will be added to our data base, please allow 90 days for the evaluation. You can call Transportation & Storm Water Dept. at (619)533-3126.

90 days is a lifetime for red blood cells, I think....
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
Alternate option are large flashing BIKE CROSSING signs.
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
I started complaining about the Montezuma/Fairmount interchange when it was reconfigured almost 20 years ago and 40th St was replaced by SR15. Engineers and planners deliberately designed it as a high speed interchange to keep high volumes of motor traffic moving between SDSU and I-8 with no consideration to non-motorized road users. It is now accepted that high speed merges to and from freeways are not safe for pedestrians and cyclists. The new model is to "square" the intersections. This has been planned to finally correct the deadly merge from KVR southbound to south SR163. Our options for returning to the mesa from Mission Valley have been severely limited.

I received the following response to an inquiry about the long promised and then reneged class I bike path from Kensington to Mission Valley from CalTrans bicycle coordinator Seth Cutter:

"Caltrans is performing design and environmental work on the bikeway project that will connect Adams Avenue to Camino Del Rio South. This work is being performed in-house at Caltrans, in cooperation with the City of San Diego. At present, the environmental clearance is nearing the final stages, while the design is currently in the process. This work will be finished by mid-2012.

This phase of work will complete environmental clearance and design for the future bikeway. The unfunded portions of the project include plan specifications for advertisement/job bid, awarding, and construction. Basically we are moving the project down the project development process, with the hopes that the shovel-ready project can compete for (hopefully near) future funding."

In other words, I shouldn't expect it in my lifetime.

The only safe way to get to Mission Gorge Rd. from southbound Fairmount is to take Collwood north to westbound Montezuma, then take the off ramp to southbound Fairmount. It's easy to miss the bicycle exit that takes cyclists to the right through the bum camp and over the bike bridge to the intersection at Mission Gorge Rd.

On the return trip Jim Lundquist has removed the double double yellow line on Camino del Rio South to allow cyclsts to make a legal U-turn and go over the interchange on the right. Watch for cars speeding south on Camino del Rio entering Montezuma. They hug the curb in the bike lane when taking the sweeping corner at speed and will brush riders before they are able to slow or correct their line, this in spite of the sign warning them to expect cyclists. Back up Montezuma to Collwood is the only safe way up to the mesa since Aldine Dr. remains closed. The narrow bridge on Fairmount over Aldine that takes you up to Meade Ave. is way too dangerous, and thereafter cyclists are often targets for simian-like passengers in cars who throw objects.
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
Even if the 15 path is built tomorrow, it is still out of the way to cross I-8 and requires a mile or so detour both directions, with the east detour being the whole Fairmount/I-8 mess (worse to even get to Fairmount Ave NB). A simple widening of the Aldine Dr UC and better signage (or reconfiguration) at Aldine Dr would make Fairmount a whole lot better for SB traffic. NB... well, there are issues which would require a major redesign or better signage.
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
Mission City Parkway crosses I-8 with no on or off ramps less than half a mile to the west from where the planned Class I path will connect with Camino del Rio South. A Class I path with no cross traffic between Adams Ave. and Camino del Rio South will be much safer than riding across the Montezuma Rd. on and off ramps on Fairmount Ave. We're not going to get a dedicated bicycle bridge over I-8, so I don't see a problem with crossing the freeway on Mission City Parkway, then turning right on Camino del Rio North, left on Ward Rd. and left into the stadium parking lot. When the light at the bottom of Texas St. is red, I turn right on Camino del Rio South, then left on Mission City Parkway. I'm not afraid of the on/off ramps to I-8 at the bottom of Texas St. as I'm usually moving at or close to the speed of traffic. I've only had a problem with one driver in 12 years, and SDPD paid her a visit at home to counsel her about bullying cyclists.

If I am still living in University Heights (or still living at all) when the bike path is built I will ride east on Adams Ave. to Kensington to avoid sharing the road at 45 mph descending Texas St. It will certainly be a more pleasant return trip than chugging up Texas St. with speeding traffic drifting into the bike lane. It will also avoid crossing under I-8 at Mission Gorge Rd. to Fairmount.
- CommentAuthormarkphilips
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
I wonder what would happen if ALL taxpayers (that's us working class) demand (via petition) to request separated bike lanes for a safer commute to work and around town. Bike lanes help but it doesn't protect cyclists from wandering or illegally parked vehicles. Streets near my son's school is still overwhelmed by motor vehicles twice a day. Turning right on a 4 way stop still gets very sketchy because cars block the bike lane
- CommentAuthorSam
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011 edited
Small progress:

That stupid sign on the shoulder/bike lane on SB Fairmount (after Camino del Rio S) has been moved to the median. This was the sign that was notifying people (drivers) that Aldine Dr. was closed and required cyclists to move into the 50 mph road to get around this ridiculous sign. Complained to Jim Lundquist yesterday, it was moved today.

---

Also, I will be meeting with Seth Cutter (bike/ped coordinator for Caltrans) this Friday. Do you all have questions you would like me to ask him? Please list them here.

Re: the I-15 bike path. I got a copy of the Memorandum of Understanding between Caltrans and the City of SD that was signed in 1993 (!!!!) and what wp says above (and on other threads) is all true. From talking to people, I've learned that Caltrans (or SANDAG? can't remember) passed the buck to the City who then sat on it and now Caltrans has taken over the project again and the design is complete and expects to do an environmental review by next Spring. Apparently the current hold up is the City of SD is unwilling to pick up the maintenance agreement (who will clean the bike path once it is complete) and so this is in some sort of odd purgatory. I've seen the design to date and it is mostly at grade with the freeway and will be separated by concrete barriers. Most of it is in the public right of way. <-- mentioned above.

I do intend to talk about this all with Mr. Cutter on Friday but happy to take any other questions (please limit questions details to the City of SD)
- CommentAuthorbilld
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
I also posted this to the local event thread by since I suspect some people read the advocacy thread but not that thread and vice versa.

Here's a chance to get involved with real advocacy in Carlsbad:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/oct/05/carlsbad-seeks-input-bicyclists/

The Carlsbad Bicycle Committee will meet for the first time at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20, where it will brainstorm ways to make the city’s streets better for bikes...
...
The inaugural meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 20 in the Carlsbad Senior Center at 799 Pine Ave. The meeting is open to the public, and cyclists are encouraged to join the discussion.
- CommentAuthorKathy
- CommentTimeOct 5th 2011
Read that MUP carefully, Sam. I don't think it requires the city or Caltrans to build the 1-15 bike path. It only obligates them to consider it. At least that's what I remember from when I read it years ago...
I think Caltrans is going to eventually do it, but I'm not sure how good a facility it's going to be. They're still not committed to building connections at the north and south ends that accommodate bicyclists AS bicyclsits. Last designs I saw were 'push the button, use the crosswalk, good luck with the right turning traffic' design similiar to I-15 bike path at Mercy/Scripps Poway Parkway. :\
- CommentAuthorSam
- CommentTimeOct 6th 2011
Well the warehouse district in Cleveland does have a lot of parking
- CommentAuthormarkphilips
- CommentTimeOct 6th 2011 edited
Yay Sam!

The Blogger: Sam Ollinger

"Every great bicycling city has one thing in common," she said, "strong politicians who are proactive toward cycling, strong mayors who make pronouncements favoring bicycles."

Ollinger sees nobody like that in San Diego.

But, she says, the public isn't waiting for government to act. "We've got lots of bicycle-friendly businesses. A place to lock up a bike in front of a shop is a low investment with a huge payoff, she said. "Bikes take up less space than cars and cyclists can be inside enjoying a cup of coffee while a driver is still looking for a parking space. I prefer to go to businesses where I'm catered to."

"Politicians are really lagging behind. They should be out in the lead," said Ollinger.

Government pronouncements about master plans and studies of bicycle path networks encourage Ollinger but she is tempered by the fact that "San Diego politicians don't say no to anything. They just study it to death. It is hard to get excited about something that is 20 years into the future."
- CommentAuthorJim
- CommentTimeOct 6th 2011
Sam:Oooh!! I got a response,

Your request for a traffic signal at this location will be added to our data base, please allow 90 days for the evaluation. You can call Transportation & Storm Water Dept. at (619)533-3126.

90 days is a lifetime for red blood cells, I think....

Say what you want about the "Daley Machine" of the 50's and 60's in Chicago, but a complaint like this would be taken care of in less than a week....if you voted Democratic, of course.:face-devil-grin:
- CommentAuthorSam
- CommentTimeOct 7th 2011
Kathy:Read that MUP carefully, Sam. I don't think it requires the city or Caltrans to build the 1-15 bike path. It only obligates them to consider it. At least that's what I remember from when I read it years ago...
I think Caltrans is going to eventually do it, but I'm not sure how good a facility it's going to be. They're still not committed to building connections at the north and south ends that accommodate bicyclists AS bicyclsits. Last designs I saw were 'push the button, use the crosswalk, good luck with the right turning traffic' design similiar to I-15 bike path at Mercy/Scripps Poway Parkway. :\

To quote Seth Cutter, "The agreement puts funding the bike path on the shoulders of the "City and other agencies". Caltrans has provided the requisite estimate to the City. The City has let the project sit for some time until recently, when Caltrans got involved to help move it along. It should also be known that SANDAG provides the funding for most projects, essentially funding Caltrans to do the work"
- CommentAuthorOld Knotty Buoy
- CommentTimeOct 8th 2011 edited
Governor Brown Veto's Three Foot Passing Law; October 7, 2011

OKB

:face-sad:
- CommentAuthorSerge2
- CommentTimeOct 8th 2011
In this case I thought the sausage came out pretty well.

This is the relevant wording that SB 910 would put into law:

A driver of a motor vehicle shall not overtake or pass a bicycle proceeding in the same direction on a highway at a distance of less than three feet between any part of the motor vehicle and any part of the bicycle or its operator, except that the driver may pass the overtaken bicycle with due care at a distance of less than three feet at a speed not greater than 15 miles per hour, if in compliance
with subdivision (a) [which retains the current language in effect... "a safe distance that does not interfere with the safe operation of the overtaken bicycle"]

http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0901-0950/sb_910_bill_20110912_enrolled.html

How someone reads that to think it means passing bicyclists that are traveling at 15 mph will be impossible ("a bicycle may travel at or near 15 mph creating a long line of cars behind the cyclist" - Governor Jerry Brown) is beyond me, and removing the 15 mph provision from the sausage certainly doesn't address that odd concern.

Serge
- CommentAuthorSerge2
- CommentTimeOct 8th 2011 edited
According to the LA Streetsblog (I can't find a direct source), this is what LA Mayor Villaraigosa had to say about Brown's veto of SB 910:

I am very disappointed that this practical and prudent legislation was vetoed today by the Governor. By bringing much-need clarity to California’s Vehicle Code, the Three Foot Passing Law would have defined the proper code of conduct as well as the rights and responsibilities of all motorists and bicyclists. Despite this setback, I along with Lance Armstrong and the entire cycling community remain committed to ensuring the safety of everyone traveling on our roads and highways each and everyday.

So the Governor of California listened to the California Highway Patrol and vetoed a crucial piece of bike safety legislation. It’s too bad that he doesn’t read Streetsblog or he would know that the California Highway Patrol doesn’t understand basic bike safety laws already on the books, to say nothing of the agency’s understanding of proposed legislation.

If the mayor of LA really said that the CHP doesn't understand bike safety laws... wow! But I have a feeling that that second paragraph is really the words of the Streetsblog, not that of the mayor, especially since it includes a link to another Streetsblog article, but they formatted it as if it's part of what the mayor said; so did I.
- CommentAuthorbilld
- CommentTimeOct 11th 2011
"It’s a great time to be a bike advocate—so go ahead and party like it’s 1899."

http://bicycling.com/blogs/roadrights/2011/10/10/back-to-the-future/
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 11th 2011
Gotta love Bob!
- CommentAuthormarkphilips
- CommentTimeOct 12th 2011
"The bike movement in America needs more rallies and protest marches." - Jonathan Maus

To make change in America that's not supported by corporations or the existing power structure (both of which apply to bicycling), you need people in the streets. It's as simple as that. Conferences, summits, meetings with politicians, and new laws will only get you so far.

We protested in November 2007 and it worked.

We had a small taste of this in Portland after two people died while bicycling within two weeks of each other in October 2007. The community voice after those tragedies was loud and clear. After bombarding City Hall with emails and voicing demands for change online, we went into the streets and into City Hall to demand change. And we got it. Those actions resulted in renewed attention on bike safety measures from PBOT, better relations between the community and the Police Bureau, and more.
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2011
I've been called extremist from time to time for advocating this view, but revolutions rarely succeed without manning the barricades. The power elite is not going to give up anything when people ask politely.

"The Third Estate is the People and the People is the foundation of the State; it is, in fact the State itself. It is in the People that all national power resides and for the People that all states exist."

-- Comte d'Antraigues in "Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution"

An economy in decline and a government deeply in debt characterized both late 18th Century France and 21st Century America. Today's Second Estate consists not of a wealthy nobility, but of powerful corporations with a virtual stranglehold on government. Mind the historical parallels!
- CommentAuthorbikingbill
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2011
OWS is gaining real momentum. The key is for the participants to not let it be co-opted by a political party.

Mainstream politicians are now calling for investigations and indictments of what happened on Wall Street. I'm pretty tapped into the technology venture scene and most of the folks I know want this as well.

Cycling can benefit from a change in this situation as well. GM and others actively took away public transportation in the 1950's. Even today, they still hawk a anti-transit, anti-cycling point of view. That's going to change.
- CommentAuthorSigurd
- CommentTimeOct 13th 2011
Few words make me more enraged than "Goldman Sachs" - seriously!
- CommentAuthorgavilan
- CommentTimeOct 14th 2011
Sign up at your own risk...

------- Forwarded message ----------

We are developing a contact list for the UCSD Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Planning Study. This contact list will be used to share information and solicit input from the UCSD Community and interested individuals throughout San Diego.

We would greatly appreciate your participation in helping us to develop this important document that will help guide the campus plans and policies on non motorized transportation. In the coming weeks a survey will be sent to this group that will help us create the goals and priorities for this plan.

In addition a website is being developed to provide and gather information. If you know anyone who would like to be added to this list please forward this email and the link below.

Please take a few minutes to sign up here….and thank you.

http://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001nubxsEiEYsYdyRMunhMaVus5SaFUIpivFsdJ8fGtfoDs9-jXRyvl76WqLpKLKV-38YRbZxNep5o%3D

Todd Pitman ASLA
Senior Planner
University of California San Diego
Physical & Community Planning Office

858 822 3791
- CommentAuthormarkphilips
- CommentTimeOct 15th 2011 edited
They say extending bike lanes are hard. No worries. We extend it for free! - Urban Repair Squad
- CommentAuthorGeoff
- CommentTimeOct 16th 2011 edited
The sharrows on Park next to Balboa aren't working. We were honked at aggressively by two different cars between Zoo Drive and Village Drive...with no traffic in the left lane, and neither vehicle turning right. That's selfish, ignorant behavior. When are we going to educate the public about the exceptions to CVC 21202, and stop with ambiguous signs that people ignore? I'm tired of having a quiet Sunday morning ride ruined by actions like this.

SDCBC, I'm going to be looking at you to lead this. Bike the Bay and Tour de Fat are preaching to the choir, and do a poor job of helping the individual bike rider gain respect. We need to engage the DMV, CHP, and apply for public service announcements to get any traction. The Move Over law for emergency vehicles and tow trucks got heavy publicity for what amounts to a fraction of a percentage of road users (who are made vulnerable by the nature of their work, I may add). The law (21202) is on the books. PUBLICIZE IT. If you want my donations/contributions/membership, then commit to this openly and forcefully.
- CommentAuthorStephan
- CommentTimeOct 16th 2011
mileco:The sharrows on Park next to Balboa aren't working. We were honked at aggressively by two different cars between Zoo Drive and Village Drive...with no traffic in the left lane, and neither vehicle turning right. That's selfish, ignorant behavior. When are we going to educate the public about the exceptions to CVC 21202, and stop with ambiguous signs that people ignore? I'm tired of having a quiet Sunday morning ride ruined by actions like this.

SDBC, I'm going to be looking at you to lead this. Bike the Bay and Tour de Fat are preaching to the choir, and do a poor job of helping the individual bike rider gain respect. We need to engage the DMV, CHP, and apply for public service announcements to get any traction. The Move Over law for emergency vehicles and tow trucks got heavy publicity for what amounts to a fraction of a percentage of road users (who are made vulnerable by the nature of their work, I may add). The law (21202) is on the books. PUBLICIZE IT. If you want my donations/contributions/membership, then commit to this openly and forcefully.

You can't legislate against a few ill-informed yahoos, but you can educate. That's why SDCBC Vice Chair Sam Olinger arranged a meeting between SD PD brass SDCBC to discuss cyclists rights with regard to CVC 21202. That effort will resulted in every beat cop getting a refresher message on the issue.

Be careful not to overestimate the capacity of local bike advocacy to shape public opinion. There's a ton of work to do and everyone who cares about cycling in San Diego will have to pitch in so the Coalition can continue to grow and expand its capacity to do this and the many other important functions it performs.
- CommentAuthormarkphilips
- CommentTimeOct 16th 2011 edited
mileco:The sharrows on Park next to Balboa aren't working. We were honked at aggressively by two different cars between Zoo Drive and Village Drive...with no traffic in the left lane, and neither vehicle turning right. That's selfish, ignorant behavior. When are we going to educate the public about the exceptions to CVC 21202, and stop with ambiguous signs that people ignore? I'm tired of having a quiet Sunday morning ride ruined by actions like this.

SDBC, I'm going to be looking at you to lead this. Bike the Bay and Tour de Fat are preaching to the choir, and do a poor job of helping the individual bike rider gain respect. We need to engage the DMV, CHP, and apply for public service announcements to get any traction. The Move Over law for emergency vehicles and tow trucks got heavy publicity for what amounts to a fraction of a percentage of road users (who are made vulnerable by the nature of their work, I may add). The law (21202) is on the books. PUBLICIZE IT. If you want my donations/contributions/membership, then commit to this openly and forcefully.

Educate drivers while on the road. The sticker below is one of many tools available online. It works with some of the members on this forum. Most drivers do not know what to do, even confused, when they see a cyclist on the road. Even a small "Change Lanes to Pass" sticker on the back of your helmet works

website: BAUFL.ORG
website: sfbikes.org
- CommentAuthorbikingbill
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011
This is more like it
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011
Don't confuse San Diego Bicycle Club with San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, two separate and distinct entities with differing agendas.

Drivers behaving aggressively to perceived "defenseless" road users are breaking the law. Get plates and driver descriptions - call SDPD.
- CommentAuthorVirtualRoadKillAli
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011
wpstoll:Kelly Batten at District 6 told me in March that they would be in by the end of May. At the end of May she told me they would be in by September. Now Jack Straw has taken her place and the learning curve begins once again. I just spoke with him on the phone and he said that striping of the bike lane on Ruffin Rd. between KVR and Aero Drive is now underway after being delayed by a business that objected to the loss of on-street parking.

Please let us know how this is going. I just had to take Ruffin Road from Clairemont Mesa to Aero 3 times last week to get to work in the morning, and it is TERRIFYING.
- CommentAuthorSerge2
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011 edited
mileco:
SDBC, I'm going to be looking at you to lead this.

wpstoll:Don't confuse San Diego Bicycle Club with San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, two separate and distinct entities with differing agendas.

Right.

San Diego Bicycle Club = SDBC (sdbc.org)
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition = SDCBC (sdcbc.org)

(I'm the liaison representing SDBC on the board of the SDCBC)
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011 edited
That's part of my daily commute. Lots of right hooks and drive outs from parking lots. Once had a rabid bro' driving a huge lifted truck chase me around and around the McDonald's at Aero and Murphy Canyon, jumping over the median and plowing through hedges, sending rooster tails of vegetation into the air. Hid in the tire store while he went careening around the parking lot, the smell of burning tires lingering after he gave up and left.

New bike lanes will give us some relief from being squeezed into the door zone on Ruffin Rd. The pace of improvements here is glacial; sometimes I wonder if I'll still be living in urban SD by the time things are finally underway. In spite of what Jack Straw at District 6 told me several weeks ago, striping has still not begun here and the reference marks are slowly vanishing. Bureaucratic inertia prevents much real progress, often initiating endless studies that are eventually forgotten before they can be completed.

The latest bad news is that CalTrans has ceded control of the sweeping high speed merge from southbound KVR to SR163 south to the City of San Diego. The City has deferred action on this to such a time as a separated class I path can be studied, approved, and funded for the length of KVR between Miramar Rd. and Ruffin Rd., in other words, not in my lifetime. How many more cyclists will be killed here before the intersection can be squared or a separated path can be built remains to be seen.
- CommentAuthorSerge2
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011
mileco:The sharrows on Park next to Balboa aren't working. We were honked at aggressively by two different cars between Zoo Drive and Village Drive...with no traffic in the left lane, and neither vehicle turning right. That's selfish, ignorant behavior. When are we going to educate the public about the exceptions to CVC 21202, and stop with ambiguous signs that people ignore? I'm tired of having a quiet Sunday morning ride ruined by actions like this.

SDBC, I'm going to be looking at you to lead this. Bike the Bay and Tour de Fat are preaching to the choir, and do a poor job of helping the individual bike rider gain respect. We need to engage the DMV, CHP, and apply for public service announcements to get any traction. The Move Over law for emergency vehicles and tow trucks got heavy publicity for what amounts to a fraction of a percentage of road users (who are made vulnerable by the nature of their work, I may add). The law (21202) is on the books. PUBLICIZE IT. If you want my donations/contributions/membership, then commit to this openly and forcefully.

Please be patient. People working hard at the national and state levels have gotten sharrows in the standards manuals. San Diego is notoriously slow about adopting new traffic controls, but finally they've started deploying them (years after San Francisco and Oceanside, among others, first did). So they are still new here and people are still learning what they mean. But I'm very hopeful that as more cyclists learn what they mean, and learn to ride accordingly (not only on streets with sharrows), motorists will start to become more and more accustomed to seeing cyclists acting as drivers, and fewer and fewer will automatically assume cyclists riding like that are doing something wrong that warrants "teaching a lesson".

Keep doing what you're doing. Smile and wave, or maybe even a blow a kiss, to anyone who honks.

San Franciscans have largely adopted. So can San Diegans.
- CommentAuthorPacMUle
- CommentTimeOct 17th 2011
wpstoll:That's part of my daily commute. Lots of right hooks and drive outs from parking lots. Once had a rabid bro' driving a huge lifted truck chase me around and around the McDonald's at Aero and Murphy Canyon, jumping over the median and plowing through hedges, sending rooster tails of vegetation into the air. Hid in the tire store while he went careening around the parking lot, the smell of burning tires lingering after he gave up and left.

New bike lanes will give us some relief from being squeezed into the door zone on Ruffin Rd. The pace of improvements here is glacial; sometimes I wonder if I'll still be living in urban SD by the time things are finally underway. In spite of what Jack Straw at District 6 told me several weeks ago, striping has still not begun here and the reference marks are slowly vanishing. Bureaucratic inertia prevents much real progress, often initiating endless studies that are eventually forgotten before they can be completed.

The latest bad news is that CalTrans has ceded control of the sweeping high speed merge from southbound KVR to SR163 south to the City of San Diego. The City has deferred action on this to such a time as a separated class I path can be studied, approved, and funded for the length of KVR between Miramar Rd. and Ruffin Rd., in other words, not in my lifetime. How many more cyclists will be killed here before the intersection can be squared or a separated path can be built remains to be seen.

ruffin rd is dreamy to me, but i ride it much later than you guys do so thats probably why.... but the bike lanes would be a huge help! it seems like such a waste to do all that work surveying and marking, all to just stop right before the last step. excellent use of my tax dollars! as for KVR... all i can think of saying is WHAT THE FUCK!?! there is absolutely no point in putting a bike path there when it is in my opinion the best bike lane in all of san diego... all they need to do is fix the 163 merge deathtrap and everything would be fine! lol, if i thought that would be a long time coming, just imagine when that bike path would happen, NEVER!
:face-plain:
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeOct 18th 2011
<blockquote><cite> wpstoll:</cite>That's part of my daily commute. Lots of right hooks and drive outs from parking lots. Once had a rabid bro' driving a huge lifted truck chase me around and around the McDonald's at Aero and Murphy Canyon, jumping over the median and plowing through hedges, sending rooster tails of vegetation into the air. Hid in the tire store while he went careening around the parking lot, the smell of burning tires lingering after he gave up and left.</blockquote>

I can only assume that the police were not called when someone threatened you with a deadly weapon right? CALL THESE PEOPLE IN AND PRESS CHARGES! I'm willing to wager this one was also military, as I see so many in that area. Let's see them show their bravado to the police.
- CommentAuthorHMeins
- CommentTimeOct 18th 2011
Yesterday afternoon on my usual commute riding south on the last block of Murphy Canyon Rd. I was surprised by the sound of a semi tanker truck braking hard behind me, followed by air horn blasts. All I saw in my mirror was the grill of this huge truck less than a meter behind me. The driver drew even with me, looked at me and mouthed words, then started moving me over into the curb. I braked hard to avoid going over the bank and down into Murphy Creek. I called 911 and told the dispatcher I was being assaulted. As I followed the truck and read the license number and description to the dispatcher, the driver stopped before the entrance to the tank farm. I stopped on the left side of the truck and started to give the dispatcher a description of the driver. The driver began shouting at me and the dispatcher told me not to say anything to him. After a couple of minutes an older man driving a white Toyota came out of the tank farm and made contact with me. I told him I would speak only to the police when they arrived. The man made contact with the driver and the driver told him that I "was all over the road." What he observed was that I was riding around the many potholes and pavement cracks that I have been reporting to the city for years and have not been repaired. Other large tanker semis have passed me here in the past going both north and south with no incident. They crossed the centerline and passed at a safe distance, never trying deliberately to run me off the road. I told the older man in the Toyota that I had called 911 and was waiting for the police to arrive. He held the driver and the truck remained parked in the middle of the roadway straddling the centerline. Eventually the tank farm manager arrived and introduced himself to me. I told him I had been commuting by bicycle along this route for 12 years and sharing the road with his trucks with no problem until today. He said he was also a cyclist and we had a friendly conversation about bicycling and bicycles before he went to talk with the driver. The incident occurred at about 3:30 pm. We waited until after 4:30 and the police had not yet arrived. Finally I called SDPD dispatch and asked if they had the call in their records. The dispatcher said that officers had been dispatched but refused to say when they would be arriving. At that point I told the dispatcher that I needed to be on my way and had important things to do before the next day. She said I could cancel the call and everyone could leave. I decided since the manager had already made contact with his driver that the situation could best be handled by him so that we could all go home. At 4:45 he handed me his business card and assured me that action would be taken in this case and that I should call him directly if a driver ever threatened me again.

If anyone ever has trouble with truck drivers from the tank farm, call Brian Martin directly at 619-584-1055, cell: 619-921-1957 and he will handle it.

The lesson I learned is that 911 is a joke. Unless shots are being fired, the police are not interested. The same kind of delay occurred last year when I was assaulted in front of my house by a mentally retarded neighbor driving a pickup truck who decided to use it as a weapon. I was already home, so when officers arrived an hour later I was able to talk with them. They declined to take a report or to take any action against the neighbor or his elderly mother because according to them it was a "traffic infraction" that they would have to have witnessed to do anything about it. Since there was no injury or property damage, they were not interested.

In order for the police to take any action, however belated, the victim would have to be down, injured or dead. By that time it's too late. Don't expect a timely intervention during an attack. You are on your own.
- CommentAuthorsd_mike
- CommentTimeOct 20th 2011
FWIW, sent a request to the City of SD to repair Murphy Canyon Road from Stonecrest Blvd to the I-15 SB onramp. I also sent a request to get Texas St swept on the grade between Camino Del Rio S and Madison Ave.

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