In this past fiscal year (since July) the City of San Diego added and updated approximately 50 miles of bike lanes, changed their crosswalk standard design to high visibility crosswalks, installed 7,000 feet of sidewalk, implemented a Bike Share Program, created a Bike Advisory Committee, programmed 63 intersection countdown timers at signalized intersections, and wrote work orders for 145 bike racks – the City of San Diego has been busy improving active transit opportunities for residents. With a mission to “Improve the Quality of Life through Transportation”, the City of San Diego’s Transportation Engineering Operations Division is dedicated to enhancing pedestrian and bicycle experiences. Deputy Director of the Transportation Engineering Operations Division, Linda Marabian, leads her team in accomplishing these tasks.

“We have put an emphasis on improving pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure the past couple of years,” says Marabian.  “Two years ago, we had a quarter of a person that worked on bikes and now we have nine full-time staff dedicated to our Bike Program. We are able to accomplish so much more now and help create opportunities for individuals to use active transportation.”

One exciting program is the new Bike Share program. Many City of San Diego residents have noticed the new bike kiosks popping up around town, allowing them to take a spin around the city in a unique way.

In partnership with the City of San Diego, the DecoBike Bike Share program is a service in which bicycles are made available for shared use to individuals on an automated, short term basis. The central concept of this system is to provide affordable access to bicycles for short-distance trips in urban areas as an alternative to motorized public transportation or private automobiles, with broader goals of reducing parking and traffic congestion as well as air pollution.

“We implemented the Bike Share program in 2015 and our first rollout has been very successful,” says Marabian. “People have written to me and my staff telling us how much they enjoy the program.”

The project will continue to rollout in the beach areas in the next coming months.

With new and exciting ventures underway, the future for active transportation opportunities in the region is promising.

“We are looking forward to seeing people continue to take part in active transportation and be able to do so in fun and unique ways,” says Marabian. “We are helping improve the safety of our residents. If people feel safer when walking and biking then they will do it more often.”