The City of San Diego recently installed two “Trail Crossing” signs in Balboa Park on Florida Drive near Zoo Place, one in each direction. These signs mark a crossing of a dirt trail that was previously unmarked. I had initially requested that crosswalks be installed as the crossing was not well indicated and Florida Drive is posted at 50 mph. The City said the speed limit was too high but they could install the signs. While it isn’t a perfect solution, it still helps increase safety in the park. Hopefully, the speed limit on Florida Drive will be lowered. It had previously been 45 mph until a few years ago.
San Diego will join a growing list of US cities that has a Bike Share program in October. The bikes will be available to anyone that has a membership in the program, for a fee. Most of the stations will be in the downtown area, with the remainder in the central city area, such as North Park, Hillcrest, and Old Town. The bike share program is planned to start on October 30, 2014. I look forward to seeing this adding to our growing bicycling community here in San Diego as well as helping tourists around in “America’s Finest City”.
While the buses aren’t running yet, most of the major changes to Park Blvd are complete. There are two new signals, one at Howard Ave and another at Lincoln Ave. At Howard Ave, left turns onto Park Blvd are now allowed.
At Polk Ave, things are a bit different. Polk Ave is now blocked at Park Blvd, with only a pedestrian signal in place. To get past Park Blvd, use Howard or Lincoln. Left turns from SB Park Blvd are also now allowed onto University Ave.
Sharrows have also been added to Park Blvd as a part of this project. They run from near Cypress Ave to El Cajon Blvd. These changes have made bicycling and walking around the area much easier. While it was at the loss of the historic aspects of the roadway, it is an overall positive change. Please be aware of these changes and adjust your trips accordingly.