The next meeting of BikeWalkSolana, the Solana Beach Active Transportation Committee, will be held on February 5, 2024, 5pm on Zoom. For an invitation, please email [email protected]

Agenda:

• Updates from the City
• Revisiting the 2023-24 Community Grant
• New Business

Meeting Notes by Jill Cooper

Present at the Zoom meeting were Douglas Alden, Jill Cooper, COSB Principal Engineer Dan Goldberg, Haley Johnson, Shawna McGarry, Karl Rudnick, and COSB Director of Public Works Mo Sammak. Virginia Lingham, a Solana Beach resident and member of the San Diego Bike Coalition Board, joined us.

Revisiting the Community Grant

We set dates for Bike Month activities described in our community grant of $3600 from the City.

• April 28: Community Bike Ride departing from La Colonia Park and shortened with less elevation gain to make it more family friendly. We will need LCIs (League Certified Instructors) to guide riders, as well as insurance. Our hope is that the City can help keep this cost down. 
• May 25 or 26: Family Fun Ride with a shortened route along the bike path and nearby streets. This ride will also require insurance. 
• Month of May: A Walking Scavenger Hunt in the Hwy 101/Cedros area in collaboration with the Solana Beach Civic and Historical Society. Walkers would find answers to scavenger hunt questions using the QR codes on SBCHS historical building plaques.

New Business

We have concerns about the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists crossing Hwy 101, especially in the Harbaugh Trails area. Shawna shared STRAVA heat maps which indicate that many people cross Hwy 101 in this area. The City is working on a plan to make this area safer, and we will hear more once it’s finalized and ready to present to the City Council. 

Mo Sammak also spoke about an accident involving a man in a wheelchair who was hit by a car while attempting to cross Hwy 101 at a “Z” crossing, but thankfully not injured. The motorist in the #2 lane slowed and stopped for the man attempting to cross the highway, using the “Z” crossing with flashing yellow lights. However, the motorist in the #1 lane didn’t stop, apparently unaware that someone was trying to cross in the crosswalk.