San Diego's latest plan to streamline and standardize the installation of bike and pedestrian infrastructure got a lukewarm reception Wednesday as mobility advocates raised concerns that the policy has too many loopholes.
The city's draft "Complete Streets" policy is meant to guide how the city designs new streets or redesigns existing ones. Most streets were built with engineering standards that prioritize the speed and convenience of driving, with pedestrian and bike safety a mere afterthought.
But the mayor and City Council have adopted ambitious goals to end all traffic deaths by 2025 and cut the city's greenhouse gas emissions — most of which come from cars — to the equivalent of zero by 2035. Those goals depend on a dramatic transformation of city streets to serve the needs of all road users, not just motorists.
San Diego's Sustainability and Mobility Department presented an update on their Complete Streets policy to the city's Mobility Board on Wednesday evening. The volunteer board advises the mayor, council and city staff on transportation matters.
Board members voted to support the policy in principle, but expressed concerns over the broad latitude city staff will have to allow exceptions. They asked that city staff publicly announce when a street design project will not follow the Complete Streets policy so advocates have an opportunity to weigh in.
"If there's going to be an exception, there has to be a public participation process," said Mobility Board member Stephan Vance. "Yes, it's a burden, but that's going to discourage exceptions in the first place."
Staff had already declined a request from advocates to require a public hearing for each exception, saying it was not feasible or practical. They also declined to make the Complete Streets policy more enforceable by placing it in the municipal code. Instead it is being drafted as a City Council policy, which doesn't have the force of law.
However city staff are preparing an update to their Street Design Manual, which will supersede the Complete Streets policy when the two are in conflict.
Manny Rodriguez, a volunteer with BikeSD, said he had met many times with city traffic engineers to ask why certain street projects did not include more robust bike or pedestrian amenities. Typically, he said, they argue such measures would negatively impact car traffic and are not required by the city's current street design guidelines.
"This (Complete Streets policy) is a good first step to change that direction," Rodriguez said. "But it seems like where the real enforcement will be is in the Street Design Manual."
The Complete Streets policy is scheduled to go before the City Council's Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee next month.
