USA Today Names San Diego in Ten Best Bike-Friendly Cities

San Diego only California city recognized in national bikeability list

Yesterday USA Today released its list of the ten best cities nationwide for bicycling. San Diego was the only California city mentioned. To read the article, click here. 

According to the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, the recognition is warmly welcomed but long overdue. “San Diego is making great strides and we’ve got even more on the way to be excited about including CicloSDias, bike share and the regional bike plan,” says Executive Director Andy Hanshaw. 

Major accomplishments from the past year include: 

• Launching San Diego’s first ever open-streets celebration, CicloSDias
• SANDAG’s approval of $200-million for a regional bike plan Early Action program 
• San Diego’s first bike share program with DECOBikes unanimously approved
• Record number of Bike to Work Day participants in May, 2014

The USA Today article highlights scenic and luxurious bicycle routes in San Diego including the Silver Strand, the ride to Cabrillo National Monument in Point Loma and the Pacific Coast Highway route up the coastline and through some of the county’s most beautiful beach towns. 

For more information on bicycle opportunities and developments in San Diego, please visit www.sdcbc.org. 

San Diego Bike Loop is open for business!

On Tuesday morning, Andy Hanshaw, Bike Coalition Executive Director joined Mayor Kevin Faulconer and City Council President Todd Gloria for the announcement of the new San Diego Bike Loop: a seven-mile network of on-street bike lanes linking downtown, Little Italy, Banker’s Hill and Balboa Park.

The Loop connects riders with many of San Diego’s top destinations, including Balboa Park, the Gaslamp, Petco Park, the Central Library, City College and the new Waterfront Park. It includes buffered bike lanes on some streets and sharrows on shared roadways. The route is marked at the beginning and end of each block with a green way-finding symbol.

“[The Loop] provides a beautiful ride for both cycling enthusiasts and casual riders,” Mayor Faulconer said. “It’s the kind of low-cost project that has a huge impact on our neighborhoods and we’re going to be doing a lot more of them in the future.”


Todd Gloria noted the success of the “road diet” on 4th and 5th Avenues that replaced a car lane with a buffered bike lane. “When I travel from my home to my office downtown, I see how well used these bike lanes are,” he said.

“Our streets are not just for cars,” Gloria went on. “They are for people. With more people choosing biking not only as a form of exercise but as a real transportation option, providing safe bikeways is a smart investment.”

Nikola Modrusan, a junior at High Tech High, was pleased with the new route. “It would be nice to have more things like this,” he said.
In his remarks, the Mayor suggested that Modrusan may not have to wait long: “We have the opportunity to do more projects like this in other neighborhoods around the city. This is just the beginning.”

Long after the news crews departed and the street returned to normal, a steady trickle of bicyclists could be seen making their way up 5th Avenue in the buffered lanes.