Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Bike Lanes

The World’s Nuttiest Bike Lane NIMBYs Live in a San Diego Beach Community

coronado_bike_lane
Look at this visual cacophony long enough and it will induce a dizzying type of vertigo.

Think you've read about every possible NIMBY objection to bike lanes? Think again. These recent comments from a public meeting in San Diego’s affluent Coronado beach community are definitely, um, different.

At the meeting, city leaders were bombarded with objections -- not about parking, traffic, or "scofflaws" on bikes, but about the "visual pollution" of painted stripes on the road. There's just something about a bike lane stripe that aesthetically revolts these people in a way that, say, a dashed yellow center stripe never will.

Local news station KPBS.org says Coronado is a "haven for bicyclists" (the League of American Bicyclists named it a silver-level Bike Friendly Community in 2013). Apparently, it's also a haven for world-class NIMBYs, as evidenced by these amazing comments captured by KPBS (we left off the names to be merciful):

    • “You are covering Coronado with paint stripe pollution.”
    • “The graffiti on the streets does not help our property values."
    • The lanes “bring to mind a visual cacophony that if you look there long enough it will induce a dizzying type of vertigo." [Editor's note: This one wins!]
    • "These black streets with these brilliant white lines everywhere ... believe me, it takes away from your home, from your outlook on life.”
    • “It’s very similar to personally taking all three of my daughters to a tattoo parlor and having them completely body tattooed." [Editor's note: Okay, maybe this one.]

Now that you've had a laugh, here comes the not-funny part: As a result of these ridiculous complaints, the City Council voted not to continue with a plan to add 12 miles of bike lanes. According to KPBS, from 2005 to 2013, bicyclists were struck by motor vehicle drivers more than 800 times in Coronado, resulting in 48 severe injuries and 7 fatalities.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines Turn Up the Heat

Triple-digit heat, fueled by climate change, is warping rail lines, interrupting construction work on transit lines and causing burns on sidewalks.

July 16, 2024

These Are the Most Dangerous Congressional Districts for Pedestrians

The deadliest congressional districts in America are dominated by BIPOC communities — and federal officials need to step up to save the most vulnerable road users.

July 16, 2024

Delivery Worker Minimum Wage Shows Promise … For Some, Data Shows

New data from New York City's Department of Consumer and Worker Protection shows minimum wage is bringing order to a previously wild industry.

July 15, 2024

Monday’s Headlines Go Through Basic Training

An NYU study looks into why the U.S. is lagging behind on high-speed rail, and one transportation expert ponders the impact on growth.

July 15, 2024

Sustainable Transportation Advocates Need to Talk About Sustainable Urban Design

A new book hopes to act as a "magic decoder ring" to our built environment — and a powerful tool to understand how sustainable transportation networks can fit within them.

July 15, 2024
See all posts