BIKE-LANE PROJECT COSTS, TIMING OFF MARK
SANDAG underestimated price tag, now $446M; delays have hampered progress
An ambitious plan to build 70 miles of bicycle lanes and offstreet paths throughout the San Diego region is yet again facing significant delays and skyrocketing costs.
The San Diego Association of Governments — which adopted the vision in 2013 — initially estimated it could overhaul 77 miles of streets and pathways by 2023 for $200 million.
Since then, SANDAG has indefinitely shelved 7 miles of lanes, repeatedly pushed back its timeline and seen the price tag balloon to now $446 million.
Top officials with the transportation-planning agency took full responsibility for the delays, which have been significantly exacerbated by neighborhood opposition to the loss of on-street parking.
“The bike program, we screwed up,” SANDAG Executive Director Hasan Ikhrata said in an interview Tuesday. “I don’t disagree.”
Officials said that rising construction costs and the unforeseen complexity of many of the projects has also contributed to the situation. This is the first such endeavor the agency has undertaken.
“We’re a lot smarter now than we were eight years ago,” said Sharon Humphreys, director of engineering and construction for SANDAG.
The agency now hopes to wrap up a total of 35 individual projects by 2026, such as putting the finishing touches on the Bayshore Bikeway and filling in the final sections of the 44-mile Coastal Rail Trail from downtown San Diego to Oceanside.
So far, SANDAG has completed 14 miles of bikeways and spent $186.5 million. The agency expects to complete 11 more miles by spring, breaking ground on another 18 miles by the end of next year.
Bicycle advocates, who have bemoaned delays in the past, said they’re optimistic that SANDAG’s efforts are now gaining momentum.
“While I wish we were much further along, I do feel there’s a renewed commitment to getting these projects done,” said Andy Hanshaw, executive director of the San Diego County Bike Coalition.
As the cost of projects increased, SANDAG brought in state and federal funding to help fill the gaps. In fact, the agency now estimates it may end up spending less of its own funding — which comes from the half-cent
sales tax Transnet — than it initially anticipated.
“It’s a concern that from the original $200 million commitment they’ve had cost increases and delays,” Hanshaw said, “but I’d also say they’ve done a good job of finding grants to finish up these projects.”
While creating bike lanes may seem as simple as painting white stripes, SANDAG and city partners have increasingly embraced so-called protected lanes. These facilities separate riders and drivers using raised concrete or plastic bollards. The process of overhauling a street to create such lanes often involves removing dozens, sometimes hundreds, of parking spaces.
Another approach creates a buffered path for bikers by relocating car parking several feet from the curb. Such parking-protected lanes on Fourth and Fifth avenues between downtown San Diego and Hillcrest are slated to open early next year.
Where roads are too narrow for such protected lanes, SANDAG has paired paint and signage with street alterations that reduce vehicle speeds.
For example, a 6.6-mile bike route running along Mead Avenue, Georgia Street and Landis Street includes 19 traffic circles, 14 speed bumps, nine curb extensions and three raised crosswalks, as well as flashing pedestrian signs and street repairs. It also eliminates more than 200 parking spaces.
These projects have proven politically challenging. Many advocates grumbled for years about a lack of support for bike lanes at the city of San Diego, where about three-quarters of SANDAG’s bike projects are located.
For example, the Hillcrest Business Association and supporters delayed for years a project called Uptown Bikeways, which included the lanes on Fourth and Fifth avenues. The group was eventually able to negotiate a redesign of several segments that limited the loss of parking.
SANDAG officials have also cited difficulty working with the city as a reason for delays. However, that seems to be changing with Democrats now firmly in control of City Hall.
“It helps so much under (Mayor) Todd Gloria’s administration to have the verbal and active support of the mayor of San Diego,” said Jim Linthicum, chief of capital programs and regional services at SANDAG. “It means a lot.”
Over neighborhood opposition, the city this summer opened a 2.4-mile stretch of protected bike lanes on 30th Street from Adams Avenue to Juniper Street. The project displaced roughly 450 parking spots.