John E

I routinely (legally) use the shoulder of I-5 between Gilman and Roselle, because that is the only direct route from Sorrento Valley to UCSD. I enter on one ramp and exit on the next ramp, without having to deal with any admittedly very dangerous weaves, merges, or diverges on the freeway itself. The shoulder is 8 feet wide, marked by a fog line, and well-maintained.

I have long argued that we should open a parallel stretch of I-805, from Mira Mesa Bl. to La Jolla Village Dr., because that is the only direct route between Sorrento Mesa and University Towne Center. I would propose restricting bicycles to enter on the last available southbound ramp and to exit at the first available opportunity -- likewise for northbound cyclists. Again, this would eliminate the one big safety issue, having to deal with merges, diverges, and weaves.

Bicyclists also have the right to use the I-5 shoulder enroute between San Diego and Orange Counties, because the only alternate route, an arguably far more pleasant ride through Camp Pendleton, is not always open for us.

My first choice is a physically separate bicycle freeway parallel to the restricted access motorway, such as we have parallel to SR-56 in Carmel Valley (the one in the northern portion of the City of San Diego, not the one on the south side of the Monterey Peninsula), but these are expensive to build, and the right-of-way simply is not always there. My second choice is to open all of the shoulders / breakdown lanes, even with the requirement that we exit and re-enter at each offramp.

To me, the greatest single access issue is the typical freeway bridge over a bay or river, such as the Coronado bridge or the various trans-bay bridges in the greater San Francisco area. There are no direct alternate routes for these.