Background

Sustainable transportation modes such as walking, cycling, and public transit are important for future communities in order to curb greenhouse gas emissions and prevent further impacts due to climate change. In particular, the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) has identified various strategies in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. “Strategy 3: Bicycling, Walking, Transit, & Land Use” specifically plans to implement the “changing of land uses, adopting a new perspective on community design, [and] promoting alternative modes of travel” (pg. 23). Cycling goals are outlined via implementing the City of San Diego 2013 Bicycle Master Plan which would aim to increase bicycle commuters by 6% by 2020, and 18% by 2035 (pg. 35).

The existing built landscape for bicycling in San Diego has grown over the last couple of decades. According to the City of San Diego Bicycle Master Plan, there are 510 total miles of existing bicycle facilities throughout San Diego (2013). Unfortunately the distribution amongst bike facility levels (Class I, Class II, and Class III) is imbalanced. There are more constructed bike paths along beachfront communities like Mission Bay Park and Pacific Beach, while Class III bike routes are located in less affluent communities with large major arterials. In conjunction with the City of San Diego’s Climate Action Plan, more bicycle facilities are planned to be constructed.

The social fabric that exists in San Diego for bicycling resides in median numbers for levels of participation when compared to cities such as Portland and Phoenix. With a total number of 7,200 bicyclists in 2016, the City of San Diego ranks thirteenth amongst twenty-six cities with the most bicyclists according to the League of American Bicyclists ACS Survey Data Report (Where We Ride: Analysis of Bike Commuting in American Cities, 2016). As far as aggregated data, San Diego has one of the largest ongoing bicycle and pedestrian counters in the country and is a collaborative project between SDSU, County of San Diego Health and Human Services, and San Diego Association of Governments (HOME:: San Diego’s Regional Planning Agency, 2019). Although there is a comprehensive network of active transit counters, there is little published literature that provides insight on the gender disparity of cyclists in San Diego.