SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — When the bollards go up, the people come out.
The freedom for Gaslamp goers to walk throughout Fifth Avenue without the fear of cars coming through is just one of the factors of its bustling nightlife.
But with budget issues looming- the bollards might not be installed anymore.
“It's like having a park and then shutting it down,” said Gaslamp Business Vendor, Franky Lomeli.
Bars, shops, and restaurants in the heart of downtown San Diego are all connected by one street: Fifth Avenue.
“There's always a good amount of foot traffic on 5th avenue,” said Manager of The Field’s Irish Pub, Kayla Peay.
Hence, the bollards.
They are short posts designed to block cars from entering pedestrian areas.
San Diego started blocking off streets in July of 2023 to make the Gaslamp Quarter more walkable.
“It was actually really nice because then you're like you don't have to worry about like cars coming down and like traffic or like any accidents happening on the road,” said Peay.
But as of February 1st, the bollards stopped being installed due to budget issues with the city.
“I mean, didn't we pay for this? Isn't this paid for, the ballards already paid for?” said Lomeli.
Back on New Year’s Day, a man intentionally drove into a crowd in New Orleans, killing 14 people.
The City of San Diego told 10News they want to prevent that.
"This is really the safest step in the right direction for the Gaslamp Quarter to make sure when people come down here they have a sense of comfort and the ability to know cars and people won't mix,” said Michael Trimble, the Executive Director of the Gaslamp Quarter.
Now, with the city not paying for those to install and remove the bollards, people are worried for those used to walking in the streets of Gaslamp — especially with baseball season around the corner.
“You're gonna try to put all, you know, 40, 50, 60,000 people on these little sidewalks after for 3, 4, 5 years,” said Lomeli.
“If the issue is like paying someone to like keep them up, like keep the road closed," said Peay. "It's not like there's not 20 other roads people can go up and down that, like, get you around here.”
