City planners have unveiled an ambitious new project to add bike lanes to the San Diego portion of Interstate 5. Under the new proposal, lanes second-from-the-right in each direction will be painted green and partitioned with white plastic poles, to protect bike traffic from larger vehicles.
Cyclists are celebrating the announcement, which will include a system of green crosswalks and light signals, to allow cyclists to safely enter and exit the freeway.
Transportation Department spokesman Larry Lane assures the project will help with traffic congestion. “This will bring much-needed traffic relief to the city’s existing network of bike lanes, which are currently overwhelmed with literally dozens of bikes per day,” said Lane.
“We looked around at our priorities in the city, and clearly this was the main thing people want,” added Lane. “We’ve got plenty of parking spaces already, and every single pot hole in the county has been repaired, so bike lanes clearly are the best use for our transportation budget.”
Not everyone is happy. Wendy Wheeler, president of the San Diego Electric Scooter Association, voiced her concerns. “Scooter riding is an integral part of San Diego’s culture and our future,” said Wheeler. “More must be done to encourage cyclists to share the bike lanes with scooters.”
At time of publishing, Wheeler was preparing to brief the city council with a proposal to designate new lanes, within the bike lanes, as safe scooter lanes.
