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San Diego cyclists fighting sunflowers
Adjacent businesses and homeowners unsympathetic
San Diego cyclists and their political allies fought hard for the lanes, and they won. But now, some riders are pedaling straight into a prickly new problem—overgrown weeds, low-hanging branches, and yes, even sunflowers obstructing their freshly minted bike routes. And residents and business owners who lost parking spaces to this influx of green infrastructure are proving less than eager to help maintain it.
In July alone, the city’s Get It Done app logged a flurry of cyclist complaints. One report from La Jolla read, “A truck almost hit me today because the weeds alongside Gilman Dr. block most of the bike lane.” Another offered there’s the poetic nickname for one particularly thorny stretch: “Death by a thousand cuts." On the San Diego Cyclists Facebook group, one rider recently asked who’s responsible for the land along Gilman Drive. Cyclist Andrew Gavin reported having to duck under a tree branch while riding uphill. Another recalled a blind curve near SR-52 completely obscured by overgrowth, though he did note that “the weeds were cut down the next week."
Still another cyclist filed a concern on Morena Boulevard near Costco: “Vegetation intruding onto the street, forces cyclists to ride closer to car traffic. Please remedy promptly, safety concern.”
But former business owners along 30th say their customers disappeared when the parking spots did. Residents claim they lost more than convenience—they lost a sense of home and control over their own curbs. Family and friends can’t just drive up and visit anymore. Now, they have to bus, Uber, or hoof it.
For her part, Tera V. from North Park says she tended the same sunflower patch for 16 years — until the bike lane arrived and complaints started rolling in. “Not only did the bike lane take away my chance to park near my house,” she wrote on Nextdoor, “but the entitled bike lane people complained about the sunflowers and I received a notice of violation.”
Sunflowers: a threat to bike lane safety?
Over the weekend, I drove southbound on 30th Street from University Avenue all the way to the South Park bridge. I passed a home with sunflowers planted in front — clear of the bike lane. While I was taking photos, a man on an electric scooter zipped through the unobstructed lane with ease. At 30th and Quincy, a lemon tree branch did jut slightly into the lane, but a cyclist on a vintage 10-speed rode by without flinching or clipping the stray limb.
Here's something you might be interested in.
San Diego cyclists fighting sunflowers
Adjacent businesses and homeowners unsympathetic
San Diego cyclists fighting sunflowers
Adjacent businesses and homeowners unsympathetic
San Diego cyclists and their political allies fought hard for the lanes, and they won. But now, some riders are pedaling straight into a prickly new problem—overgrown weeds, low-hanging branches, and yes, even sunflowers obstructing their freshly minted bike routes. And residents and business owners who lost parking spaces to this influx of green infrastructure are proving less than eager to help maintain it.
In July alone, the city’s Get It Done app logged a flurry of cyclist complaints. One report from La Jolla read, “A truck almost hit me today because the weeds alongside Gilman Dr. block most of the bike lane.” Another offered there’s the poetic nickname for one particularly thorny stretch: “Death by a thousand cuts." On the San Diego Cyclists Facebook group, one rider recently asked who’s responsible for the land along Gilman Drive. Cyclist Andrew Gavin reported having to duck under a tree branch while riding uphill. Another recalled a blind curve near SR-52 completely obscured by overgrowth, though he did note that “the weeds were cut down the next week."
Still another cyclist filed a concern on Morena Boulevard near Costco: “Vegetation intruding onto the street, forces cyclists to ride closer to car traffic. Please remedy promptly, safety concern.”
But former business owners along 30th say their customers disappeared when the parking spots did. Residents claim they lost more than convenience—they lost a sense of home and control over their own curbs. Family and friends can’t just drive up and visit anymore. Now, they have to bus, Uber, or hoof it.
For her part, Tera V. from North Park says she tended the same sunflower patch for 16 years — until the bike lane arrived and complaints started rolling in. “Not only did the bike lane take away my chance to park near my house,” she wrote on Nextdoor, “but the entitled bike lane people complained about the sunflowers and I received a notice of violation.”
Sunflowers: a threat to bike lane safety?
Over the weekend, I drove southbound on 30th Street from University Avenue all the way to the South Park bridge. I passed a home with sunflowers planted in front — clear of the bike lane. While I was taking photos, a man on an electric scooter zipped through the unobstructed lane with ease. At 30th and Quincy, a lemon tree branch did jut slightly into the lane, but a cyclist on a vintage 10-speed rode by without flinching or clipping the stray limb.
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