It is well known that 37.23% of the People's Republic of China's approximately 1,343 million residents own bicycles and utilize them for a variety of reasons, setting an example for the rest of the world.
It is also clear that rapid urbanization in countries such as the United States, particularly in metropolitan areas such as San Diego and Los Angeles, where roads are dominated by expansive highways and road connectors, has made it difficult for motorcycles and bicycles to coexist with motorists, as shown by the high number of accidents.
Will it be possible to overcome this obstacle and achieve, even gradually, a degree of awareness reached by the population and the government regarding the use of bicycles as a means of transportation?
Cost and Scope of the Project
According to SANDAG, the Active Transportation Program of the California Transportation Commission, TransNet, will contribute $10.2 million to the building of the "Bike from the Border to Bayshore" lane, which will cost $18.6 million.
Additionally, it was stated that the bicycle lane will extend 6.7 miles throughout the original project and connect it to Imperial Beach's portion, connecting the 24-mile Bayshore Bike Path with the Port of San Ysidro International Entrance.
In front of the Community Center of San Ysidro, also known as "La Casa Familiar", Nora Vargas, President of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Todd Gloria, Paloma Aguirre, Mayor of Imperial Beach, Clarisa Falcon, Gustavo Dallarda, Carlos González Gutierrez, Consul of Mexico in San Diego, and members of the Tijuana City Council were all working toward the same goal.
“Safer for Everyone”
According to Nora Vargas, president of SANDAG, "The Border to Bayshore Bike Path will safely connect the busiest land border crossing in the world, the Port of Entrance of San Ysidro, with the bicycle route to the coast of the bay."
Likewise, Todd Gloria, the mayor of San Diego, noted that "starting the construction of the bike lane from the Border to Bayshore will provide first and last-mile connections, which will bring us closer to making a safer place for traveling through our region."
Elizabeth Hensley, a member of the Alliance for Active Mobility A.C., a group that promotes bicycle use as a mode of transportation in the city of Tijuana, said during an interview with El Latino San Diego just before the event's start, that they are working to raise government awareness of how critical it is to build the infrastructure that is still needed in the next-door border town.
Cycling enthusiast and member of the Tijuana Development Council, Tomás Pérez Vargas said:
"Infrastructure is needed, which is why the Council is working on a project, we are focusing on the Ciclova that is located by the Bordo del Rio, it already exists, it just needs to be renovated, it is also necessary to give access to it to several of the pedestrian bridges that already exist and that don't take away any space from the car lanes, instead it's a road that is added to the cycling system."
“We are actively pushing bicycles as a means of transportation, and we are also working on a project to the south that, in theory, will be able to connect with the one that will be built here,” she said.
