Fight over construction of bike lanes on 30th Street continues

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – They call it the “30th Street Pipeline Project,” but around North Park, it’s a whole lot more than that.

“I’m just shocked. If this is democracy, I’m not feeling it. I look to my friend and say, did we just get transported to the Soviet Union,” says North Park business and home owner Lindia Frederick.

If all goes as planned, when the Pipeline Project is finished, the parking spots will be removed and the bike lanes will replace them. According to those most affected, this is happening behind closed doors with a small group of advocates steamrolling the people who live and work in the community.

“My voice has never been heard. This is being done behind closed doors with a small group of advocates who promote bicycles”, says Liz Saba, owner of Presley and Co. Jewelers off 30th Street.

There are hundreds of businesses and homes up and down this part of 30th street. Right now, there are 571 parking spaces. While the city planners don’t want to talk about specific numbers, under the plan, most of those spots will be gone.

“The direction this is going is not good. I put my life into my business and this will kill my dreams,” says Saba of Presley and Co. Jewelers.

While most people have thought this was about “climate change” and cleaning the air, apparently it’s not.

“I felt like Council Member Chris Ward is back peddling against the Mayor’s plan. He told me, this is not about ‘climate change’, this is about ‘politics’. My mouth dropped,” says Saba.

Making things ever stranger, the plan for protected bike lanes just got bigger.

“They now want to make the lanes wider, big enough for two people. They simply don’t care about our lively hood,” says Business Owner Frederick.

Furthermore, the City’s bike plan is in direct conflict with SANDAG’S bike plan. SANDAG is the big picture planning group for all things transportation, including bikes. Their master bike plan uses a road with existing bike lanes and parking, it’s called Utah Street. Yet the city continues to push for 30th street, where the loss of parking could be devastating to the local economy.

A lawsuit has been filed against the City of San Diego, to get records and meetings leading up to this decision. Three months later, the City has not produced one piece of paper, as requested by Save30th.org and attorney Craig Sherman.