SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A new option for bike lanes along 30th Street in North Park looks like a compromise between cyclists and business owners.
The new proposal, called Option A+, would build dedicated, protected bike lanes along a 2.4 mile stretch of 30th Street, stretching from Juniper to Adams Avenue. That's longer than initially planned.
In return, business owners will get to keep some of their parking. That stretch has around 550 parking spots. The original plan removed all of them. The new plan leaves 100 in place, mostly in business areas rather than residential areas.
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The plan first came up at a December meeting of the City Mobility Board.
Even with the compromise, some business owners worry the loss of 450 spots will impact their customers.
"North Park is a destination city," says Kelsey Padigos, the owner of Subterranean Coffee. "We get customers who walk, who ride their bikes and who drive. Especially on the weekend, we get a lot of 'destination' customers."
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Padigos says her company offers a discount to people who ride their bikes, and she wants 30th Street to become safer for cyclists. But this may hurt her bottom line.
"We have a location in Hillcrest, and the parking situation there is troubling," she says. "It turns customers away. I would hate for North Park to go in that direction."
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Others have expressed concern that the loss of 450 spots will affect how many spaces are left for people with disabilities. In a statement to the Union-Tribune, City Councilman Chris Ward said, "While I think that the new plan is a compromise in the right direction, I urge the Mayor's office and staff to accommodate for ADA accessibility and continue to do outreach in the community."
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Some people who live in North Park feel the bike lanes should go on another, less congested street.
"As a general rule of thumb, I avoid 30th street," says JJ Brawley, who has lived in North Park for 45 years. "When I bike, I take one of the two parallel side streets because there's no traffic on those streets, and they're twice as wide and therefore twice as safe as taking 30th."
