State Should Look at Transit Priorities : Bad Idea to Cut Into Bike Lane to Make Room for Cars

A conflict over a bike path along a two-mile stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach says something about larger transportation and lifestyles issues in Orange County.

Something is awry with state policy when, as sensible regional strategies aim to get people out of cars, a plan advances more car lanes while putting at risk a ribbon of thoroughfare carved out for those with the good sense to commute by bicycle.

The relentless roll of the automobile in the Southern California area has state transportation officials planning to make room for more vehicles. They want to remove street parking from Pacific Coast Highway and re-stripe it between Beach Boulevard and Golden West Street. The end result will be a six-lane highway in place of a current four-lane road. The state wants to widen the street and spend $12 million to acquire private property. But to do that, the state says it must shrink the existing bike path on Pacific Coast Highway from at least six feet to just three feet or less.

In a word, the strategy seems to be: Make room for cars, not bicycles. The bike path now has high use from cyclists who ride it for recreation and, most important from the point of view of regional transportation strategy, to get to and from work. Cyclists understandably are worried that widening the highway and reducing the width of the path will make using the road unsafe. PCH is a bit of a speedway now as it is; what will it become for cyclers with a narrower margin of safety?

The wholly inadequate response of the state to the problem so far is that the alternatives have been looked at, but that there is nothing that can be done. The state ought to be able to do better than that.

Where are we on transportation and recreation policy in Orange County, after all, if it comes to this? In Huntington Beach, we have people doing what all the experts say should be done. They are cutting down on pollution; they are leaving their cars at home; they are staying physically fit in the process.

Additionally, pedestrian traffic is heavy around the waterfront. Having people get around by bike enhances the sense of community and slows down the frantic pace.

To date, much of the brunt of the justifiable outrage of those who are battling to preserve a few extra feet of bike space has come to bear on Huntington Beach City Hall. But, as Louis Sandoval, the city’s public works director notes, the city really has little to say.

Clearly, we have not heard the end of this battle. The state, if it wants its six lanes, may have to find a few feet more for the people who get around on bicycles.

Cyclists have a place along the waterfront, not only for recreation and enjoying the benefits of West Coast living, but to help in some small way to solve regional transportation problems.