In March, the city of Vista began bike lane improvements, including installing berms and bollards throughout bike corridors in the city.
But drivers complained they couldn’t see them. They said the safety measures were actually causing accidents, and taking away space to pull over in case of an emergency.
David Switzer finds himself in the middle of the controversy. He rides his bike three to four times a week in Vista.
"I have mixed emotions because I do like riding my bike. Anything to protect me from cars zipping along at 50 miles an hour is appreciated," he said. "At the same time, it seemed like it could be dangerous for cars that accidentally pull in there, go out of control maybe, wreck their suspension. There is a huge amount of controversy."
Vista mayor John Franklin said he heard from both motorists and cyclists against the safety features.
"I'm not convinced that these curbs that were in between the plastic bollards actually made it safer," he said. "Cyclists weren't convinced that they made it safer. There was no question some cyclists absolutely love them, but some cyclists hate them. But the vast majority of other residents definitely didn't want them."
He put an item forward to have the newly installed berms and bollards removed, and the majority of the council agreed.
Council member Corinna Contreras did not agree. She voted against the removal. "People are biking, they're walking, they're using public transit, and they just want the city to have a commitment to safety. And it's really unfortunate that we have gone backwards," she said.
She said rather than a full removal, there could have been improvements made to the new safety features.
"We didn't have to remove all the berms. We could have left it for a year and assessed what is going on. Are we having issues with public safety and emergency access? Are we having more accidents? But we can't do that anymore because that decision is in the past and it's really unfortunate," she said.
The safety measures were part of a $1.5 million infrastructure project. Removing them will cost the city over $200,000.
"Not only was it a bad decision for safety, but it is a waste of taxpayer money. And I'm really frustrated with that because I have a lot of things in my district that $200,000 or more could have addressed," Contreras said.
Franklin said, "This is a lot of money, there's no doubt about it. But sometimes it's important to do what people want. And our job as a city council, my job as mayor, is to do what the people want."
Construction crews will be concentrating on removal near Sycamore Avenue and Melrose Drive until the end of this month, keeping only a select few.
