In an effort to improve conditions for pedestrians and cyclists, the City of San Diego has set its sights on Convoy Street for the next set of bike lanes.
“There’s virtually no place for bikes on Convoy,” a local cyclist named Allen Beach stated. It’s dangerous to cross the street here due to the volume of vehicles.
Riding a bike along Convoy might be risky due to the pavement’s many cracks and holes.
It’s rough, as Beach put it. “A new layer of pavement would do wonders for these streets.”
In the coming months, the city plans to do just that, and in addition to repaving Convoy, they will install bike lanes.
The Convoy District Partnership’s Director of Special Events, Lauren Garces, speculated that the city was working to make the area more pedestrian-friendly by, among other things, widening the walkways. And then there will be no parking because there will be a protected bike lane.
Nearly 300 in-demand parking spots would have to be removed on Convoy Street to make room for the bike lanes.
“How ridiculous that they even installed bike lanes here; seriously, who rides a bike to work,” remarked Elaine Dill, a spa-goer.
Several establishments in the Convoy Asian Cultural District are worried that parking would be eliminated.
Common Theory proprietor Cristian Liang felt “a little punch to the belly” at the news. “Taking away parking places along the street and adding bike lanes will undoubtedly make the people’s complaint that there’s nowhere to park even more true.”
Garces said they are consulting with the city to find a solution, such as converting some of the parallel parking on side streets into angled parking.
According to Garces, who directed CBS 8 to a parking survey residents may fill out to give their views before January 15, 2023, “we’re identifying roads with the city to know if we can add more angled parking to this location to reduce that impact, lessen the impact of the parking spaces being lost.”
Advocacy Director for the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition Will Rhatigan said, “Right present, the Convoy area is incredibly tough to move about as a person walking or riding a bike.” Installing bike lanes, wider walkways, and better lighting will encourage more visitors to the Convoy District.
