SAN DIEGO — A bike lane now has a home on Convoy Street as a part of the City of San Diego's Kearny Mesa Community Plan Update. It takes what used to be available street parking in the area.
CBS 8 has been following this story for over a year. Katie Earle, a regular from O'Briens Pub on Convoy, spoke with us about how the bike lanes have affected her.
"To take all of that parking means I may not be coming here as much," said Earle.
"If you want to have lunch here, you better get here at 9 in the morning to park," she added.
While she understands the push to cycle for environmental reasons, she said Convoy in particular is a hard street to bike.
"I'm a cyclist myself and I would not cycle on Convoy, it's terrifying," Earle said.
Cindy Koenig, a regular at Hair and Nails by Ginna in Convoy, also spoke with CBS 8.
"I try to schedule my appointments first thing in the morning, always and only because that's the only time I can ever get a parking place," said Koenig.
She said parking in the area has always been a problem and she fears for the businesses in the area.
"When you drive around for 5 or 10 minutes and you can't find a spot, you leave and eventually stop coming back," said Koenig.
The City of San Diego is working with the Convoy District to create a plan to improve parking by making what they call a parking district.
Former city councilmember Chris Cate is a part of the Convoy District. He said they're looking at every solution.
"We're still in the process of formulating the parking district and this is going to be something where we are seeking the feedback and the input of members of the public," said Cate.
Cate said there is no set timeline for solutions to be implemented, but they will be turning to the community for input.
"Potentially meter parking to address the turnover of parking, having parking agreements with private business owners, maybe a valet program, those are all options the parking district is exploring," said Cate.
The Convoy District is still encouraging patrons to support their local businesses and keep an eye out for when community meetings are scheduled.
"We're asking folks to be patient, these things don't happen overnight, but we'll be working with community members to figure out what those options are," said Cate.
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