By Eva Christy, SDRPF intern
Do you believe in a bikeable San Diego?
Imagine biking from Ocean Beach towards the I-5 along a safe, green river path, only for that path to end abruptly. There is another path across the river, but reaching it means riding along high-speed, dangerous streets with no bicycle infrastructure. This is the reality for cyclists and pedestrians using the San Diego River Path for leisure and transportation. The path will remain dangerously disconnected without cohesive community action.
A proposed solution, the West Valley Crossing Pedestrian & Bike Bridge, is already on the map and will allow San Diegans to safely ride from Ocean Beach all the way to Snapdragon Stadium. But this project has been stalled, despite having more than a decade of community support and appearing in city planning documents. This bridge would safely connect the south side of the river at Sefton Park, near the little league fields, to more miles of path on the north side.
Path user Carlisle Dockery, a resident of Sherman Heights, states that the path “connects so many of San Diego’s resources, but because of gaps in the trail it can be challenging to access.”
She adds, “The West Valley Crossing is a much needed improvement that would greatly elevate the safety and connectivity of bikeways in Mission Valley. I look forward to the day that I can bike all the way to Santee from Ocean Beach entirely along the San Diego River!”
Now, envision what the West Valley Crossing would mean for you if you were biking along the river path. Instead of risking the roads or turning around, you could easily continue biking along the river. You could access the upcoming Riverwalk Trolley Station on the MTS Green Line or continue coasting along the Fashion Valley segment of the river path.
This connection wouldn’t just keep you safer. It would also make alternative methods of active transportation more accessible, giving our community the option to choose more sustainable, affordable transportation. The crossing is the type of infrastructure that is critical to help San Diego meet its Climate Action goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2035, reducing traffic congestion on major roads and making our region and the river ecosystem more climate resilient.
But without community action, the West Valley Crossing will remain unbuilt.
This fall, the SDRPF mobilized the San Diego River community to take action and reach out to key elected officials to advocate for the project. And it worked! Several key councilmembers gave their top endorsement at the most recent SANDAG Transportation Committee meeting and the crossing is now a confirmed priority project in the SANDAG 2025 Regional Plan.
A growing coalition of government and community support includes:
- Council President Joe LaCava, District 1, SANDAG Board Chair
- Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera, SANDAG Transportation Vice Chair
- Councilmember David Zito, Solana Beach, SANDAG Transportation Committee Chair
- Councilmember Stephen Whitburn, District 3
- Presidio Little League
- Mission Valley YMCA
- Circulate San Diego
- Outdoor Outreach
- California Association of Bicycle Organizations
Stay tuned for other advocacy opportunities!
You can help Connect The Trail with these actions:
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- Attending Stewardship Events. Join the new One-Mile Action Club (starts second Friday of the month on January 9th)
- Sign Up for our newsletter to get Action Alerts
- Become a Member & Donate today to support advocacy and river trail efforts!
- Learn More so you can share this project in conversations with friends and family!
All can be found on our webpage sandiegoriver.org at Connect The Trail.
We hope you can join us!