Bike Parking Succeeds in Carlsbad

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Editor,

As Laguna debates the fiscal sanity for a $65 million parking structure, consider the alternative to car parking chosen by Deputy Director of Transportation Bryan Jones and the city of Carlsbad.

“We added 200 custom ‘bike the village’ Dero Bike Racks to Carlsbad’s downtown village…equates to 400+ new VIP parking spaces for customers for about $40,000 total! As compared to $10,000-$15,000 per vehicle parking space…equals inexpensive rejuvenation! Our business owners were shocked to see how many customers ride now! And now I get calls from business owners to install them near their business as they see the value it is having for other businesses!” director Bryan Jones said.

“Creating more parking for cyclists expands the customer base for merchants and improves traffic congestion by encouraging visitors to ride their bikes to the village instead of driving. Carlsbad Boulevard is part of the historic Coast Highway, which has become one of the most popular bicycling routes in San Diego County, so thousands of bicyclists ride past … every day.”

“The more bike-friendly Carlsbad becomes, the more planners can look at reducing parking requirements in the village,” said Robert Richardson of Karnak Planning & Design.

Meanwhile the city of Laguna Beach plans to spend $65 million in bond financing to add 200 parking spaces for cars, a total financed cost of $126 million, a stellar $630,000 per parking space.

 

Les Miklosy, Laguna Beach

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1 COMMENT

  1. This is simply silly. Laguna’s and Carlsbad’s parking challenges are in NO WAY similar. What are you suggesting, we put in 200 bike parking spaces somewhere and have people bike the canyon rode to get in? Give me some figures relating two how many vehicles travel Carlsbad Village Drive compared to the Canyon Road during a summer season. Also, I’d like to compare the number of cars on PCH in Laguna as opposed to PCH in Carlsbad. I love the idea of a more bike friendly Laguna but it would not address the problem in any significant way.

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