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Innovative Community Bike Center coming to San Diego in . . .

“Waste not, want not!”   -  Poor Richard’s Almanac. Non-profit's idea for bike center in abandoned Navy building slowed but not deterred by red tape.

September 12, 2017 By Richard Opper Leave a Comment

San Diego Community Cycling Center slideWe think of “sustainability” as a new idea, a concept underlying our hoped-for environmental stewardship of the planet, but as Poor Richard first voiced a related concept at the beginning of our national existence, it really isn’t a new idea at all.  I’m not going to use this opportunity to go tree-hugger on you (although it’s not a role foreign to me), but I do want to highlight how an unused asset of the City’s could be turned into a brilliant community treasure.  Sadly, this is an asset the City was prepared to waste. 

San Diego Community Cycling Center slideThe Climate Action Plan for the City has, as one of its elements, a plan to encourage more and more commuter traffic onto bicycles.  To this, I say (somewhat unabashedly) YAY!  Given the natural attributes of San Diego, more widespread use of bicycles will be a terrific boost to us as people, to our community, and to the bigger biosphere.  Slimmer waistlines, cleaner air, less dependence on resource intensive vehicles should be incentive for some to get out into our fresh air and pedal to work.  Those who can.  There is no question that cycling is undergoing a big renaissance, and public agencies in our region are all investing in bicycle infrastructure to help encourage bicyclists to commute.   The safer the ride, the more people will roll that way.

Various organizations and clubs around town exist to help this growth of safe cycling.  They are scattered about in cheap office space, sometimes in downtown high rises when subsidized space is available.    Wouldn’t it be great if we had some public space where these organizations could be housed, sharing ideas and membership lists, hosting exhibits, lessons, events and community programs?  What if there was a small City building that sat right on a bike path in a lovely City park close to downtown and directly connected to the Bayshore Bikeway?  A building not currently being used for anything.  Holey moley!  There is!

San Diego Community Cycling Center slideRegular readers of local luminary Logan Jenkins might remember his article about the possibility of using one of the buildings that sits in Liberty Station for just this purpose.  A long cigar shaped building that is on the City’s land, not land that the developer can improve, not land that the NTC Foundation can develop, but land that is owned by the City, outright.  The City’s plan for the building?  Raze it.  Not enough budget to turn it into anything useful, no staff functions to put there – knock it down and forget about it.   AARRRRGH!!!!  Don’t do that!

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, a collection of bicycle clubs from throughout the county,  appealed to the City to use the building, just like the City leases out its buildings in Balboa Park to other not-for- profit organizations with civic functions.   Mayor Kevin is himself an avid bicyclist, seen often around the Point Loma neighborhood, off for a two wheeled spin.  The SDCBC offered to take on the whole project.  No City money needed, no City personnel or staffing required.  Money can be raised for the rehab of the building from private sources, and the clubs will manage the space and rent out offices to other bicycle organizations as available.  Chris Bittner, of OBR Architecture, has had a hand in the redevelopment plans of many of the Liberty Station developments, and has already donated time and creative ideas to how the building can be rehabbed and put to use as a Community Bicycling Center.  Brilliant!

San Diego Community Cycling Center slideFeedback from the Mayor’s Office was all positive.  Great idea! Win-win-win!  Take an unused building destined for the trash heap of history and transform it into a bicycle center to encourage a growing number of cyclists – without spending a dime of public money.     But nothing is ever so simple.

This building came to the City as part of the big Base Realignment and Closure deal for the Naval Training Center (NTC) – and this part of the deal transferred the land for the park, land on which this building sits, by way of a Quit Claim Deed.  That Deed requires the City ask permission of the Department of the Interior for approval to use the building to make a bike center using private funding.   So – a glitch in our otherwise simple plan – the City needs to ask the feds if they can let the coalition turn the place into a bicycle mecca.

San Diego Community Cycling Center slideDespite “win-win-win” and without regard for “waste not, want not,” that letter asking for permission to turn the building into a community cycling center has been pending for almost a year.  The last word from the City suggested that they had gone off to the Federal Aviation Administration to ask if continued use of the building was “acceptable,” before getting federal permission for the idea.  Ugh.  The building is situated not far from Corvette’s restaurant, and across the street from Ace Hardware.  It is no different from others that have been redeveloped successfully – but of course, you need to define a project and this use is only a twinkle in our collective cycling eyes.  I don’t know how the FAA will respond, or what they even have to review, but I do think that the City ought to jump on board this train, and let the coalition help the City realize its admittedly ambitious Climate Action Plan by encouraging more people to cycle – especially when the help comes from those who know how to get it done.

San Diego Community Cycling Center slideThis, then, is an open request for help.  Let the Mayor’s Office know if you support the use of this building to develop a “bespoke” cycle center.  Please?

Slide Presentation (Click image below for slide show – to speed up show, click arrow on middle-right side of image):

San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide
San Diego Community Cycling Center slide

Photo Credits: Slide presentation courtesy of San Diego Bicycle Coalition, graphics by Christopher Bittner and Ron Miriello.

 

 

Filed Under: Civic, Feature Posts, Revitalization, San Diego, Transportation Tagged With: active transportation, bicycles, cycling, Liberty Station

avatar for Richard Opper

About Richard Opper

Richard Opper has had a career in government service and private practice, and his academic and professional achievements are notable. During his most active years, “SuperLawyer” magazine regularly selected Mr. Opper as one of the top environmental lawyers in southern California. Early in his career he served as Attorney General for the Territory of Guam, after which he began his private practice in San Diego, working on a variety of complex natural resource matters. Since that time, Mr. Opper’s practice has focused primarily on brownfields - the redevelopment of contaminated properties - and one of his successes was his work in support of the development of Petco Park. Mr. Opper, although now less active professionally, still represents public and private clients throughout the state. He is active in several not-for-profit organizations, particularly concerning photography and bicycling, two of his paramount interests. He is on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Photographic Arts, and on the Board of Directors for the NTC Foundation. Mr. Opper’s academic work, since his graduation from UCLA School of Law in 1976, was stimulated when he attended Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government (MPA, 1987), and has resulted in publication of articles and essays on a variety of topics, most often related to environmental conditions at the U.S. - Mexico border or the evolving politics of brownfield redevelopment in California.

www.RichardOpper.com

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