By Megan Burks
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“Crumbling streets” is about as popular a phrase as “pension reform” in this year’s mayoral campaigns. Mounting costs for deferred street repair has taken center stage as both a serious problem for San Diegans and evidence of mismanagement in City Hall.
The candidates are offering up their suggestions for working through the maintenance backlog, but limiting our need for asphalt is rarely one of them. For residents in City Heights, however, learning how the candidates plan to improve transit and biking in San Diego is just as important as how they’ll fill in potholes.
On Public Transit and Bikes
According to Mid-City CAN, transit use in City Heights is more than four times the national average. Residents, however, consider their relationship with transit authorities a thorny one.
Community members have advocated for decades for a bus route promised to them when Interstate-15 demolished homes and severed their community in two. A cocktail of state and federal budget cuts and car-centric tax appropriations, however, mean residents will likely struggle to pay for a ride on that bus once it comes.
That’s in part why many in City Heights have embraced cycling. The neighborhood’s farmers market hosts a bike repair booth and it residents have helped mobilize San Diego’s cyclist community in petitioning elected officials for safe streets.
What the Candidates Say
Councilman Carl DeMaio told voiceofsandiego.org in September, “A reliable public transportation system is something that any major city of San Diego’s size needs to have.” But he also said, “We must provide services that reflect bona fide market demand,” and turned his attention to fixing our crumbling roads.
It’s unclear what he meant by “bona fide market demand,” but it sounds like a nod to the rationale regional planners used when prioritizing freeways in their transportation plan. According to them, just 5 percent of daily trips in San Diego utilize public transit.
DeMaio’s emphasis on repairing roadways suggests a similar car-centric outlook. He also gave one of San Diego’s leading bikes advocates, Sam Ollinger, the cold shoulder when she asked to talk with him about how he’ll serve cyclists.
But DeMaio did join his fellow city council members in sending a letter to the San Diego Association of Governments asking it to reprioritize transit in its regional plan. His streets plan also includes a funding plan for infrastructure that could benefit cyclists to some degree.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis‘ response to voiceofsandiego.org’s survey was similar to DeMaio’s. She said San Diego should have a first-rate transportation system, but that we must be practical.
“We need to recognize that most San Diegans commute each day by car, and that means the city can help the greatest number of commuters each day by clearing our billion dollar deferred maintenance backlog.”
Dumanis focused talk of expanding San Diego’s transit network on bringing trolley service to the airport. Dumanis also declined to speak with Ollinger.
Congressman Bob Filner did speak with Ollinger. He discussed bringing a regular event to San Diego in which streets are blocked off for biking and walking. However, he has not released any clear plans for bikes and public transit.
Filner serves on the Congressional Bike Caucus and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, where he said he has focused on improving transportation choice and mitigating pollution caused by commercial trucks traveling to and from Mexico.
Filner was outspoken in his disapproval of SANDAG’s 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and has said he’ll focus on expanding public transit.
Ollinger seems to have a soft spot for Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, who is a triathlete with first-hand experience biking in San Diego. He’s agreed to meet with her and other cyclists at 7:15 a.m. Saturday at Washington and India streets to hear their concerns. He plans to release a bikes plan next week.
Like DeMaio and Dumanis, Fletcher also seems anxious to fix the city’s road maintenance backlog, but discussed trying to limit San Diegans’ dependence on cars. He told voiceofsandiego.org, “The truth remains that for many San Diegans it’s difficult to use public transportation to commute to work. We have to do better. Making fast, efficient public transportation available to more San Diegans will require thinking outside the box.” He also suggested changing land-use policy on parking spots to better encourage transit use.
Miss the previous installments of City Heights and the Mayor’s Race? Learn about redevelopment, education, streets and public safety.