SAN DIEGO — Now that the bike lanes have been installed on Convoy for several weeks, CBS 8 headed back to the area to see how it's going.
Are people using them? Is parking a problem? Have there been any unexpected issues?
What we noticed
The first thing we noticed right away was that several of the plastic barriers were already in bad shape with scuff marks all over them and we spotted one that is completely missing.
We also saw the bike lane blocked by shopping carts in 2 spots and multiple trucks parked in the bike lane unloading at restaurants.
“I don't see bikes riding here,” said Brian Poffenberger who was eating at a restaurant on Convoy. “I come down here once a week and I never see bicycles - and I ride a bike so I pay attention to that stuff. It's really frustrating.”
Brian says he rides on side streets that are less crowded and points to the scuffed barriers to prove his point.
“These plastic barriers don't do anything. Stops cars from parking there, but it doesn't stop you from getting hit and then they don't maintain the bike lanes," he said.
CBS 8 noticed a lot of trash and debris in the bike lane.
And then there's the parking situation. Kai Barry drove into the area to meet a friend.
“So far I have not have had no luck,” Kai said. I've been circling for like seven minutes, but I don't know, I'm gonna try some other spaces and see if I get lucky somewhere.”
The bike lanes took out all the parking on Convoy. The city converted some parallel parking into angled parking, but they still lost spots.
We drove around several blocks and similar to Kai, we couldn't find any open spaces.
CBS 8 monitored the area for around two hours and did see some bikes. Five to be exact - including an e-bike and one bicyclist who was riding against traffic on the sidewalk.
The city believes more bike riders are coming soon because hundreds of apartments are being built on Convoy.
But as regulars pointed out, there's no trolley service around there. And that’s leading to concern the new residents will be adding even more cars to the area.
WATCH RELATED: New bike lanes in San Diego's Convoy neighborhood cause parking chaos during dinner rush