More bike lanes?

District 5

I sound like a broken record, but SANDAG is up to their usual tricks. The latest update comes from SANDAG’s staff and their proposal to use an extra $90 million on bike lanes.

Time and time again, I’ve sat in our SANDAG meetings and heard how the road projects the voters were promised, can’t be fulfilled due to a lack of money. A few months ago, we passed an agreement at SANDAG that prioritized SR-52, SR-67 and SR-78, yet when it comes time, this new money is going to bikes.

So far, SANDAG has spent $123 million on the Regional Bike Plan for San Diego County. They’ve only completed 8.8 miles, which breaks down to a little under $14 million per mile, for bike lanes!

I am not anti-bikes; I even understand that in certain areas people can use them to and from work. But, less than 2% of the population uses bikes as their means of transportation. While about 96.5% of people use the highways and roads. Choosing to spend $90 million for bike lanes over roads and freeways is a decision for people to feel good about and not about doing the right thing for San Diegans.

Luckily, Chairman Steve Vaus was able to delay the vote on the bike lanes to a later date, but this will come back again. No matter when we vote on this matter, we need to continue to prioritize the 52, 67, 78 and reduce gridlock. Until then, I will not support any bike lanes.