[SDCBC] Whatever happened to that bike lane on La Costa?

[John Eldon]

Hello Rob,

La Costa Av is a total MESS. It has a posted 45mph speed limit and the
general look and feel of a prime arterial, except that it also has driveway
cuts and/or on-street parking in some segments. No one would build a road in
that manner today -- it violates too many design principles. (My neighbor
almost got killed, and totalled his James Dean era Porsche, almost 30 years
ago, when some clown turned left across his path.) In the early 1980s there
were bike lanes on both sides of the road essentially from the street's
entire length, but the segments east of El Camino Real were removed to
provide on-street parking on the north side of the street. You did precisely
the right thing in taking the right lane -- the only other sensible option
is to switch over to Levante, the next parallel street to the south, which I
find far more pleasant than La Costa Av., and which I use when traffic is
heavy or when I might be worried about motorists being blinded by the
setting sun.

Thanks for posting,

John

-----Original Message-----
From: sdcbc-bounces at bikesandiego.org
[mailto:sdcbc-bounces at bikesandiego.org]On Behalf Of Robert Leone
Sent: Monday, March 31, 2008 8:09 PM
To: Sdcbc
Subject: [SDCBC] Whatever happened to that bike lane on La Costa?


Dear SDCBCers:
	Hello! On Saturday's ride I got honked at, big time, on La Costa. The
road is bike-laned northbound from Rancho Santa Fe to the Coast Highway,
EXCEPT for a section where the "Bike Lane" turns into an on-street
parking shoulder!
	So there we are, riding along, keeping away from parked cars and their
suddenly-opening doors just as the Department of Motor Vehicles' bike
riding tips web page advises and we must have shocked some poor snook in
a big pickup (with, I might add, a fair amount of plywood and
costruction-tool stuff in the bed!), so much he actually pulled in to an
open spot along the shoulder for a few seconds before driving off.
	I almost regret not having the chance for some dialog.
	Still, while some of the senior SDCBCers are in a reminiscing mood, I
would like to ask what is the story with La Costa? Would I be ride in my
cynical suspicioun the perfectly good bike lane was appropriated to give
more parking spaces for that developer?

Robert Leone