Transforming Downtown San Diego's Grid for Biking and Walking

Downtown San Diego's population is ramping up quickly, and it’s making life for bicyclists and pedestrians unpleasant and dangerous on downtown's wide street small block one-way auto-oriented grid. But that's about to change, explains longtime San Diego planning advocate Bill Keller.

Civic San Diego last year initiated the Downtown San Diego Mobility Plan, which includes goals such promoting everyday commuter and recreational bike trips, creating a network of streets to keep bicyclists and pedestrians safer, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, according to Keller. 

"While autos will continue to have priority on certain streets, other streets may get bike lanes, cycle tracks or bike boulevards. Underutilized one-way streets (like E St, 6th & 7th Ave) might be converted to two-way or designated for diagonal parking."