CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) - Signs in front of Eastlake High School that read “NO STOPPING: BIKE LANE” may be the most ignored signs in the City of Chula Vista. Hundreds of parents stop in the bike lane every morning to drop their teenagers off for school.
“Very congested. Very challenging,” said Chula Vista City Councilman John McCann.
There are two problems facing the high school. There isn’t enough parking on campus and the illegal stopping creates even more congestion on Eastlake Parkway, which is the major thoroughfare in front of the school. Other cars are forced to stop or swerve around the cars that hang into the lane.
McCann said the City and Sweetwater Union High School District worked together to devise a plan to build a new drop off zone that takes cars out of the flow of traffic and preserves the bike lane. McCann said it should cost less than $275,000 to build with construction beginning this summer.
“It’s pretty straight forward,” he said. “The money is already existing. We don’t have to raise money to do this.”
He acknowledged neighborhoods all over San Diego County battle similar traffic issues at “drop off” and “pick up” times outside schools. He suggested simply having a conversation with a school’s principal to identify the problem and work from there.
