[SDCBC] A good opinion piece in Voice of San Diego this morning about Per...

[Robert Leone]

Good morning sdcbc and Trevor:

Trevor Bourget wrote:
SNIP

> Generally speaking I stay to the left of all lanes marked for mixed 
> use. For example, I've lately been purposely riding Pomerado/Miramar 
> westbound all the way through to Genesee and then turning north to go 
> to I-5 into Sorrento Valley. At various points I have one, two, or 
> three lanes to my right. The most egregious design is at I-805 
> intersection, where bike lane disappears and road narrows 
> simultaneously (not "coincidentally"), then the NB ramp diverges, 
> then SB ramp diverges, then SB ramp merges, then several lanes of 
> high-volume right turning vehicles exist for several blocks.

Admittedly the 805 interchange is a mess, but then what intercharnge 
isn't? No, that's not a rhetorical question -- are there any examples of 
good interchanges out there?

Ways to avoid the 805 interchange include taking Eastgate Mall to end up 
  on Genesee north of La Jolla Village Drive and Nobel Drive to meet 
with Genesee south of La Jolla Village Drive. Yes, Nobel has hills but 
the worst part is the pabement quality on the south side of the Costa 
Verde Shopping Center.



> 
> Grade separation seems to be working even for advanced motor traffic 
> issues as seen around I-5/I-805. There may be a few places in the 
> county where such a bike ramp would be an appropriate investment for 
> an experiment.

"But it's so so expensive it'd actually cost money!" Jim B. and Kathy 
K., next time you've got a planner talking about cost, perhaps you 
should offer to take them on a bike ride.


> Generally I find that the problem is not with hurrying motorists, but 
> with greedy/selfish motorists. Those who intentionally wait until the 
> last second to make their illegal (no 100-foot signal, etc)  lane 
> change often seem the most annoyed to find me in between them and the 
> lane they're trying to get to. I suggest that the redesign should 
> encourage earlier choice of lane based on destination, followed by 
> physical barricades preventing late changes. Probably at least 300 
> feet are needed in case of Pershing/I-5 due to curves and average speed.

I hear you on that -- I think one of the problems with Kearny Villa Road 
is how suddenly the merge is visible. If you're not actively looking or 
it as a motorist you'll become one of those late lane changers.



> 
> I will be contacting Caltrans about Mira Mesa Blvd EB at I-15 to 
> suggest at least solid lane stripes under the I-15, since they 
> adamantly refuse to increase lighting under the bridge. If the 
> stripes don't fix the lane-changing behavior I observe, I'll take it 
> up another notch as described above.
> 
> -- Trevor 
> 
Yours,

Robert "make coffee, not policy" Leone, except for thab bike ride thing, 
  I'm sure most CalTrans engineers could fit that Dahon folder....