Category Archives: Bike Safety

San Diego bicycle safety best practices and California bike law information for help understanding the rules of the road for bikes.

San Marcos Develops New Master Plan To Increase Bicycle Infrastructure

According to a recent report by UT San Diego, San Diego’s recent push towards expanding its alternative transportation infrastructure is rubbing off on its neighbor to the north, San Marcos. In an effort to encourage alternative transportation around San Marcos, the city is updating their master plan to include future bicycle lane and pedestrian pathways. According to a city traffic engineer, it is pivotal that San Marcos update the master plan now to receive priority for infrastructure development grants. Cities with master plans updated within the past five years are much more likely to receive state funding for mending roads, building bicycle lanes and sidewalks. San Marcos updated its master plan over 8 years ago. The process of drawing up the new plan is funded by the $80,000 state grant the city recently received. Previously, the city has included bicycle lanes in the master plan; however, there are other forms…
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New Bicycle Safety Law To Take Effect In 2014

According to NBC San Diego, 2014 will be a year marked by increased bicycle safety thanks to the new legislation requiring motorists to provide a minimum of three feet to bicyclists when passing on a roadway. Dubbed the Three Feet For Safety Act, the bill was proposed by Assemblyman Steven Bradford of Gardena and sponsored by Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a cycling enthusiast who was injured by a passing taxi four years ago. Current legislation requires motorists to provide an unspecified “safe distance” to bicyclists when passing, but the lack of specification creates a gray area of ambiguous liability. The bill received popular support from a variety of cycling and motorist organizations, such as the California Association of Bicycling Organizations and the Automobile Club of Southern California. The government affairs manager for the latter organization stated that “[t]his gives clear information to drivers about passing at a safe distance….
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Bicycle Safety Question And Answer With San Diego Mayoral Candidates

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition has published the transcript from a Q & A session between the Livable Streets Coalition, a conglomeration of non-profit organizations dedicated to urban planning, transportation and public safety and the current San Diego mayoral candidates, David Alvarez, Kevin Faulconer and Nathan Fletcher (no longer running). A representative of Livable Streets asked how downtown, which currently accommodates 30,000 residents, will accommodate the planned influx of 60,000 new residents while still remaining accessible, transportation-wise. Faulconer “want[s] to encourage walk-ability and smart growth,” such as “the Bayshore Bikeway.” As the city expands, pedestrian safety has grown into a large public concern. David Alvarez has a “goal of zero bike and pedestrian fatalities” that he has dubbed “Vision Zero.”  The candidate’s plans “to ensure that a variety of projects in the Bike Master Plan are completed, in a timely fashion, and that bike ridership increases” include, from Alvarez,…
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