Stop the San Luis Obispo bike lane insanity

May 4, 2023

By T. KEITH GURNEE

After approving the Anholm Greenway with its “protected” bike lanes at a staggering cost of $6.3 million—nearly six times the original estimate—one would think the city might pause to reflect on how much money it’s been spending to trash our streets and diminish the livability of an historic neighborhood. And it cost the city another $1.3 million just to get the project bid ready!

With construction starting on this project that’ll eliminate over 90 on-street parking spaces at a time when the state is densifying single-family neighborhoods and prohibiting cities from imposing parking requirements within ½ mile of transit stops for that additional density, could the city take a more damaging action? Add in the fact that it will expose cyclists to dangerous two-way bike lanes on one side of Chorro and Ramona streets, it will only be a matter of time before the city will regret its decision.

Yet the city is doubling down on such decisions. This summer, the city will be splurging another $9.7 million to infect more of our streets with these zany “improvements.”

Next up: Monterey and California streets, Santa Barbara Street, and Morris Street. This fiscal insanity has been spawned by the city’s Active Transportation Committee (ATC) that’s packed with bike lobbyists, the special interest group that’s determined to make a mess of our streets.

Coming on the heels of the recent bike versus pickup collision that killed a cyclist at Grand Avenue and Fredericks Street, one of the members of the ATC—Garrett Otto—wrote a letter admonishing the Tribune for reporting that the cyclist crashed into the pickup.

While it’s premature to blame either party for this tragic accident that awaits the results of an investigation, Otto’s comments lay bare his clear bias for bikes.

Should we be surprised if the Tribune’s report proves accurate? Perhaps not. Many residents have seen bikers routinely blasting through stop signs throughout the city, including cycling families with their children in tow. To them, stop signs are mere “suggestions.”

Protected bike lanes will certainly not fix that problem.

The city’s unsightly, expensive, and unsafe distribution of these crazy projects throughout our neighborhoods is just plain nuts. Visitors and residents alike can’t believe what this council is doing to our streets. Our community and our neighborhoods deserve better.

When will this City Council come to its senses and stop this waste of taxpayer’s money to the detriment of our town? With this council, probably never.