SAN DIEGO — A group in North Park has lost its legal fight against the city over its decision to remove hundreds of parking spaces to make room for dedicated bike lanes along 30th Street.
In a final ruling, a state appellate court ruled in favor of the city and its environmental review of any potential impacts that removing parking will have on the environment and the community.
In the December 23 ruling, the appellate court panel found that "the City properly determined that it was not required to conduct any further environmental analysis before implementing the Bikeway Project."
That ruling now puts to an end a year-long legal battle from the group calling themselves, "Save 30th Street."
The group included business owners and residents who said the removal of hundreds of parking spaces on the busy commercial stretch of 30th, south of University Avenue, not only hurt business and stripped them of profits but also hurt residents and the public by not having access to local businesses.
The city, environmental groups, as well as cyclists, said the dedicated lanes were needed to ensure the safety of cyclists and to get more people out of their vehicles and onto bike lanes and sidewalks.
Friday's ruling now ends the year-long legal battle over the lanes.
In a statement, a spokesperson for save 30th Street disagreed with the ruling while acknowledging the fact that it was an uphill fight.
"It was a stretch to file a lawsuit against the City, it would have been precedent-setting if we had won, and many other communities would have filed lawsuits too...This is not a reason to sit down and shut up. When the city's power mongers strike, the community needs to strike back. If we had fought this when the Mayor and Council reps first introduced this, to whomever they introduced it to, we would have had a better chance at winning. It was too far down the rabbit hole to get it stopped, by the time we were made aware of what they were doing."
