SANDAG bike lanes still hamstrung by delays as $27M University Ave. projects gets OK

An bike lane project along University Avenue that faced delays for being too expensive has finally been green-lit by the San Diego Association of Governments.

Construction could begin in the summer for bike lanes on a 2.8-mile stretch of University Avenue between Estrella Avenue and 69th Street. It is part of a larger reshaping of streets and bike infrastructure in North Park and Mid-City neighborhoods that has been planned by SANDAG for well over a decade.

A $26.9 million contract for the project was awarded to the Griffith Company by SANDAG’s Board of Directors on Friday without discussion.

Like other bike infrastructure projects in the city, bigger changes than just bike lanes will be coming to that part of University Avenue. Intersections and traffic signals along the street will be reworked to make biking safer and reduce the chance for crashes between cyclists, pedestrians and drivers. Plans also call for about a dozen bus islands to be installed, which sit between the bike lane and vehicle lane.

Between Estrella Avenue and 69th Street, bike lanes along University Avenue will alternate between separated bike lanes, which are split from the vehicle lane by street markings, and buffered bike lanes, where a curb or other barrier protects cyclists from the vehicle lane.

In the fall, SANDAG put the project out to bid for the first time. After all three bids came in over the agency’s $23.4 million budget, the project’s design was tweaked and San Diego funneled $3.6 million in supplemental money for fixing the pavement, changing traffic signals and other work.

The project went back out to bid in March, and the lowest bid from Griffith still came in about 4.2% over the estimated budget of $23.4 million.

An additional $2.4 million for construction contingencies brings the total project cost to $26.9 million.

Despite considerable investment, SANDAG’s bike projects have been criticized for delays in bringing online infrastructure that could improve safety for s. For the University project, planning began in 2013 as part of SANDAG’s $200 million regional bike program, which is funded by Transnet, the region’s half-cent sale tax, as well as the state and federal government.

In the North Park and Mid-City area, SANDAG’s plans call for 12 miles of new bike lanes across six different projects. So far, about 6.5 miles have been completed. The two completed projects, which cost $26.5 million, include 3.5 miles from Georgia Street to Meade Avenue, and another 3-mile portion on Landis Street.

Apart from the University Avenue project, remaining bike lanes are slated for Howard, Orange and Robinson avenues at a projected cost of $40 million.

According to SANDAG data, hundreds of crashes have occurred along the near 3-mile stretch of University Avenue. In 2014, two pedestrians were struck by vehicles in separate incidents near 52nd Street, and a pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries after getting hit by a car at the intersection of 54th Street and University Avenue in 2024.

“We know that University Avenue really end-to-end is one of the most hazardous corridors for people on bikes, people on foot, even people in cars,” said Anar Salayev, the executive director of BikeSD, a nonprofit that advocates for cyclist safety and greater investment in bike infrastructure. “Delay with any project can ultimately and unfortunately be measured in impacted lives.”

Beyond SANDAG’s projects, there’s still a need for greater connectivity between Uptown, Mid-City and San Diego State, Salayev said. Key streets flowing to the university, such as Montezuma Road and El Cajon Boulevard, still ride like “expressways with very heavy traffic volume.”

“Those corridors have some of the highest levels of stress despite connecting to a newly R1 university,” he said. “There are a number of students, faculty and staff that live within Uptown, within Mid-City that don’t really have reliable connection to San Diego State.”