Metro San Diego CDC Letter Re: Relocation of 14 DecoBike Bike Share Stations to Uptown
METRO
SAN DIEGO CDC
536 Maple Street, No. 103
San Diego, California 92103
(619) 822-5103
October 23, 2017
Ahmad Erikat, Brian Genovese
City of San Diego | Transportation & Storm Water Department
Transportation Engineering Operations Division
1010 Second Avenue, Suite 800, MS 608
San Diego, CA 92101
Dear Mr. Erikat & Mr. Genovese:
The Metro San Diego Community Development Corporation (“Metro San Diego CDC”) is a non-profit organization with representation from over 20 full blocks of property and business owners in the Uptown communities of Bankers Hill/Park West, the Hillcrest Commercial Core, and Five Points/Middletown. Both the Bankers Hill Business Group and Five Points/Middletown Business Association are affiliated with the Metro San Diego CDC, as well as are several local community associations.
At its October 16, 2017 meeting, the Metro San Diego CDC discussed the proposal to relocate 14 DecoBike stations from the Beach area to Uptown. The Metro San Diego CDC found the proposed relocation puzzling. Uptown has some of the lowest ridership per DecoBike station in the City of San Diego. It appears on average the number of daily DecoBike rentals in Uptown is between one and two rides a day per station. There is one station (#186) in Uptown that has not had a bike rented from it in all of 2017. Four stations have an average of less than one bike rental per day. The normal business practice is to increase the supply of a product where there is a high demand; yet DecoBike is moving 14 of its stations from areas where they had a relatively higher ridership, to Uptown with possibility the lowest ridership in the city.
The Metro San Diego CDC passed the following motion regarding the proposed relocation of 14 DecoBike stations from the Beach area into Uptown:
1.) The Metro San Diego CDC opposes relocating the 14 DecoBike stations to Uptown, as the existing Uptown DecoBike stations are badly underutilized. This is a very poor business decision; the stations should be relocated into areas with high existing ridership, several of which exist outside of the Beach communities;
2.) The Metro San Diego CDC strongly opposes DecoBike stations being placed in locations that will result in the loss of existing street parking. Several of the proposed stations are at sensitive locations in business districts; where there already is a critical shortage of parking. In particular, the Metro San Diego CDC requests the following five proposed stations be removed from consideration for DecoBike stations, as each will result in the loss of two parking spaces or a parking space and a commercial loading zone:
+ Fifth Avenue & Washington Street;
+ Fifth Avenue & Pennsylvania Street;
+ Third Avenue & Washington Street;
+ Fifth Avenue & Nutmeg Street;
+ Park Boulevard & Cypress Street;
3.) The Metro San Diego CDC also strongly opposes the placement of two DecoBike stations on the east side of Sixth Avenue at the curb along Balboa Park. It has been the existing policy of the City to not allow commercial advertising in Balboa Park. The two proposed Sixth Avenue Stations, at Sixth Avenue & Nutmeg Street and Sixth Avenue and Fir Street, will have advertising, so will violate this policy. They will also compromise the attractiveness of the park viewshed.
Sincerely yours,
Michael Seidel
President,
Metro San Diego CDC