SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The City of San Diego will install temporary posts to separate cyclists from motorists along Pershing Drive, after two fatal collisions between vehicles and pedestrians in the area.
San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria's Office announced that staff will install bollards to create bikeways in both directions as a temporary measure until SANDAG starts construction on a permanently protected bikeway on Pershing Dr.
The work on the temporary bikeways will be completed in early October, according to the city. Construction on permanent bikeways is set to start in early 2022.
RELATED: Calls for protected bike lanes on Pershing Drive continue after man riding scooter is killed
"I brought to this office a firm commitment to creating safe and easily accessible ways for San Diegans to get from Point A to Point B without a car," Gloria said in a release. "That’s why my City budget this year included $1.1 million to create the Safe and Sustainable Transportation for All Ages and Abilities Team (STAT), a new 12-member unit dedicated to planning and building bikeways across the city. And that’s why SANDAG and the City have implemented policy changes to cut the permitting time on bike infrastructure projects."
This month, a man riding a scooter in the bike lane of Pershing Dr. was hit and killed by a motorist. That fatal collision comes after Laura Shinn, a well-known San Diego State faculty member, was fatally struck by a vehicle while riding a bike in the same area last July.
Kyle Heiskala, with Bike SD, told ABC 10News this month that the bicycling community needs protected lanes to prevent these crashes from continuing to happen.
"Whether they're riding a scooter, skateboard, or bicycle, we need protected barriers so that these accidents, they're not accidents, these crashes, these deaths will stop occurring," Heiskala said.
