San Diego Bike Master Plan Analysis Paper

San Diego’s biking master plan was created with the intent to change the transportation culture within the city. The plan has three goals: make bicycling the preferred method of transit for trips under five miles, create a safe and comprehensive local and regional bike network, and improve the overall wellbeing on San Diego residents and their environment (San Diego Bike Master Plan, 2013). The Bicycle Master Plan proposes an expansion of the current bicycle system, making the total amount of biking facilities occupy 1,090 miles within the city (San Diego Bike Master Plan, 2013). Predictions within the report suggest that a successful expansion of the regional bike network the city can grow the amount of bike users from 47,399 people to 122,378 people. This would help curtail the number of hydrocarbons, mono-nitrogen oxides, particulate matter, and carbon dioxide by thousands of pounds per year (San Diego Bike Master Plan, 2013).

The topography of the city is hilly, making it undesirable for bikers to travel through (San Diego Bike Master Plan, 2013). Additionally, there are streets that are not continuous in major areas because the freeway was designated to be the primary automobile route in the that area (San Diego Bike Master Plan, 2013). Older neighborhoods lack the ability to implement bikeway infrastructure due to lack of space on the road. The public has also expressed discontent with the new master plan (San Diego Bike Master Plan, 2013). Many believe that tax payer dollars are being wasted on a program that only a small proportion of the population use (Garrick, 2017). They are outraged that the plan eliminates driving lanes and parking spots in prime business district locations (Garrick,