San Diego, CA–San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) celebrated the grand opening of the Georgia – Meade Bikeway, alongside local leaders, community members, and bike advocates.
The new 3.5-mile bikeway provides a vital connection for people to bike and walk between the central San Diego communities of University Heights, North Park, Normal Heights, and Kensington-Talmadge.
SANDAG Vice-Chair and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria led the celebration at Garfield Elementary School in North Park with a ceremonial ribbon cutting, self-guided bike ride, and educational bike obstacle course hosted by the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition.
“The completion of the Georgia-Meade Bikeway will make it safer and easier for people to bike and walk in these vibrant communities,” said Gloria. “This project is just one example of how SANDAG is connecting people and places by planning, building, and investing in projects and programs that create a brighter and more sustainable future for all, today and for generations to come.”
The Georgia – Meade Bikeway is one of six segments that make up the North Park | Mid-City Bikeways project, which will add approximately 12 miles of bikeways to the regional bikeway network. The bikeways will feature buffered bike lanes, traffic calming elements, neighborhood traffic circles, raised crosswalks, and other streetscape enhancements that make streets more pleasant for people who bike, walk, work, and live in the area.
SANDAG will open 11 miles of new bikeways by this spring and will break ground on approximately 19 more miles by the end of 2022.
“Consistent with the state’s Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure, Caltrans will continue working with our partners to identify bicycle and pedestrian needs and prioritize projects on, parallel to, and across the state highway system to complete multi-modal transportation networks,” said Caltrans District 11 Director Gustavo Dallarda.
“It’s exciting to see our neighborhood becoming more accessible to children and families,” said Franklin Elementary School Principal Melissa Roy-Wood. “This bikeway, and others like it, are creating a safe, fun, and efficient way for students to get to school and for people to explore their communities.”
The North Park – The Mid-City Bikeways project is a vital part of the regional bike network and a high priority project funded through the Regional Bike Plan Early Action Program and paid for by TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation administered by SANDAG. This spring, SANDAG expects to complete the Landis Bikeway, bringing the North Park | Mid-City Bikeways project another step closer to completion.