A New Plan for Pedaling Through Paradise

People are using their bikes more and Coronado is no exception. As picturesque as the city is, cycling around this place has its drawbacks. And a major issue is the dearth of designated bike paths.

Coronado sought to address this and other issues by establishing an ad hoc committee about a year ago and asking it to proffer a Bicycle Master Plan. A draft of the plan was presented at a workshop Tuesday night at the .

It was the cycling community's first chance to the see and comment on it. More than 100 avid cyclists attended the workshop. The plan addresses three main issues: access, safety and parking.  

Everyone had "a hot-button issue," said Bruce Johnson, vice chairman of the committee. "Kara Mann, the committee chair, has kids, so her main concern was school safety."

For Johnson, it was Orange Avenue, and several others echoed his sentiment.

"I just want to be able to ride my bike to and ," said 80-year-old John Hermann, who's been riding his bike in Coronado for 60 years.

Indeed Orange Avenue was one of the issues the committee addressed, suggesting the addition of a "green lane" that would encourage bikes and cars to share the right lane.

A green lane is essentially an enhanced bike lane. Instead of a narrow stretch along the curb, it covers the entire lane. It's painted green so cars realize they will be sharing the road.

The draft plan also calls for bike friendly improvements to Glorietta Boulevard and Ocean Boulevard. For Glorietta, it calls for extending the path between the bay and the golf course, then building a 7-foot chain-link fence with plastic netting to shield cyclists from misdirected tee shots. The bike path for Ocean Boulevard would run along the sand beside the rocks.

Accessing the Silver Strand bike lane at several points, especially from Orange Avenue, is challenging even for the experienced cyclist. There is also congestion along Sixth Street when parents arrive to pick up their children at and . Lastly, there is the challenge of crossing Third and Fourth streets.

The ad hoc committee took up and formulated a plan for each of these concerns.

"None are pie in the sky. We've done our homework," said John Holloway, a senior associate with KTU+A, the consulting firm hired by the city to help develop a master bike plan. For each proposal he offered an example of another city that had adopted a similar plan.

Long Beach, for example, already has a green lane on Second Street. Since it was created a year and a half ago, it has not only made access easier for cyclists, it has reduced speeds, parking congestion and revitalized the business district. It cost about $10,000. "It only took two coats of paint and the installation of a few signs," Holloway said.

The idea of making the right lane a shared bike and motor vehicle space has the greatest chance of being adopted, said Kathy Keehan, executive director of the San Diego Bicycle Coalition. "It requires the least investment and would have the biggest impact." It only requires paint and signs. "That it has been such a spectacular success in Long Beach makes it even more attractive," she added.

Orange Avenue is a state highway and creating a green lane will require Caltrans approval, Keehan conceded. But she believes the state transportation agency is interested in promoting alternatives to driving. Its Department Directive 64 calls for it to "expand its vision of transportation," she pointed out. Approving a green lane for Orange Avenue would be one way to deliver that.

To help cyclists enter the Silver Strand bike lane from Orange Avenue, the committee recommended installing a pedestrian and cycle crossing light.   

For Third and Fourth streets, it proposed a high-intensity-activated crosswalk. A person wanting to cross simply pushes a button, which causes the light to flash yellow, and as they go across, it turns red.

"The beauty of this system is that it only activates when someone wants to cross," Holloway said.  The plan is to place lights at four locations along the corridor. It would not only benefit cyclists. Pedestrians would also benefit.

To improve safety on Sixth Avenue, near the schools, the plan suggests forcing drivers to turn in one direction only. One way to do this, Holloway said, would be to install small traffic circles.

Besides access and safety, the bicycle committee addressed the lack of adequate parking. "At there are more bikes than there are back racks," Holloway said. The school, along with other locations, needs more bike racks, he added. 

The plan also offered a number of examples of creative bike rack designs—one spelled out the word DINER, another resembled an old-fashioned bicycle. 

The city hired KTU+A for $75,000. "We were lucky to get KTU+A," Johnson said. "They're the best there is."

Founded in 1970, it is one of San Diego's largest and most diverse landscape architecture firms. Its past projects include Scripps Mercy Hospital's entry park and fountain, Park Row and Pantoja Park in San Diego, and the Le Meriden Resort Hotel (now the ) in Coronado. The Mission Valley YMCA, the Irvine Company, UCSD, La Jolla Country Club, and the cities of Del Mar, San Marcos and Chula Vista are among its many clients.

Working with the committee, the firm used its vast resources to create a comprehensive plan to transform Coronado into an even more bike friendly city. 

But Holloway cautioned that not everything proposed by the committee would wind up in the final draft. "You may not get everything you want to do," Holloway said. Federal financing aside, creating bike paths is expensive. "You're essentially building a new road," he said. Cost will be a factor.

KTU+A estimated that creating bike paths for Glorietta Boulevard and Ocean Boulevard would cost $5.7 million—$3 million for Glorietta and $2.7 million for Ocean.

But, according to the committee, they would not only make it easier for cyclists, they would improve the general ambiance of the neighborhoods. Building a pathway on the other side of the rocks for tourists to travel on might be welcome by people living along Ocean Boulevard, the committee suggested.

Holloway was sanguine about funding. Most would come from the Federal Highway Administration, whose budget has actually increased over the last couple of years. The funds are administered by the state and distributed through the San Diego Association of Governments.

The created the ad hoc bicycle committee in September 2009 at the urging of Councilman Mike Woiwode. Its mission was to develop a Bicycle Master Plan to address a number of biking issues, including safety and access.

At the workshop Woiwode pointed out that the draft represents "a menu of things we would like to have." He urged people to read and commit to the plan. "If there is going to be controversy, we want to resolve it now," he said. "We don't want controversy when it comes to the council." 

The final plan will be presented to the City Council in a couple of months, he added.

You can view the presentation on the city's website. The full draft report will be available online shortly, Johnson said. But he cautioned people to set aside a couple of hours to read it. "It's quite extensive," he said.