Ive been bike riding in Coronado for 60+ years, for recreation, commuting to school and work, and for paper route jobs. I can honestly say I NEVER needed a bike lane to know where I was going, to know where I should ride, and to know cars were sharing the road. And I would NEVER rely on painted stripes to protect me from motor vehicles.
Ive been involved in five bike accidents around Coronado: Riding on handlebars, put bare foot into spokes (my fault); bike towing my wagon, grabbed rear wheel, cut thumb on fender (my fault); friend on my handlebars, tried to jump curb, we didnt (my fault); racing friend in alley, he turned wide into street, straddled hood of oncoming car (his fault); riding to school in street, lady opened car door, I hit it (her fault). As with most bike mishaps, the first four were caused by the rider(s), and bike lanes would have had no positive effect on safety. The last was caused by a careless driver, and bike lanes wont prevent that. In fact, placing bike lanes adjacent to parked cars on narrower streets will likely CAUSE that type of accident.
Whether recreational bikers, local teenagers or a gaggle of serious riders, biking is a social outing. Most riders dont like to pedal single file, and prefer riding 2-3-4 abreast to talk, so they rarely ride between the lines, and they block vehicle traffic when they dont. Bicycle Master Plan proposes spending over $850,000, an obscene amount of taxpayer money for unnecessary and optional use bike lanes, which will do very little to enhance safety. While there may be cost savings by striping after re-paving streets, its still an overkill and major waste of money, especially considering the visual clutter bike lanes would add to our streets.
Local riders already know how and where to ride around Coronado. We dont need to attract any more cycling clubs from across the bridge. We also dont need to waste money satisfying transportation goals from SANDAG or California or the Feds. And painting bike lanes to get their grant money is a false economy. In this case, lets do what will benefit Coronado residents the most nothing!
