Walkable cities cannot be replete with one-way three-lane streets. Drivers typically see such streets as an extension of the highway or freeway.

Add to this that so many American city urban centers are going through (or hope to) a renaissance. That necessarily means growing pedestrian activity.

But it also means coming to terms with post-WWII traffic design. People in crosswalks and speeding cars on wide one-way streets don’t mix.

I’m delighted to see San Diego converting several downtown roadways from three to two lanes. It’s not perfect but it’s a start.

#sandiego #rocknrollmarathon

The San Diego rock n roll marathon is tomorrow. But what a sh*t show it is now, the night before. The idiots who put on the spectacle invested zero dollars into traffic control.

It’s literally taking 15 minutes to drive one block in parts of downtown due to all the road closures for the marathon. In one of the densest areas, Little Italy, residents can’t get home. Angry drivers are road raging, and traffic is utterly snarled.

Nice job, Rock n Roll Marathon people.

The Helm building on Front at Beech, downtown San Diego completed around April 2023. The San Diego Housing Commission partnered with the developers given the building has 77 affordable rental apartments for low-income families and individuals.

The block itself is home to two aging single room occupancy hotels, some of the very last of their kind in the area. I should emphasize that super expensive Little Italy is right next door.

I for one am glad to see such a mix of different people from different backgrounds living in and enjoying the same amenities city life has to offer.

Lastly, I would be remiss to not mention the Hughes Marino building also pictured. The man was at the center of a high-level political intrigue in the city, scraping together real estate deals for San Diego. He made sure he got paid around $10M in an opaque manner that reeked of cronyism. He was ultimately charged with a felony or two, but ended up pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. Another controversy in itself.

Transit corridors in San Diego are popping up with greater frequency than I can remember. This picture of intersection of El Cajon Blvd and Park Blvd is an example of the densification of a center city neighborhood along extremely busy stroads. Fortunately there are several bus lines that service the area. Even better is that the local neighborhoods have lots to do within walking distance.

The city has allowed for developers to build denser buildings along transit corridors (or even within 15 minutes’ walk of a transit/bus station) without having to build or include lots of parking. Parking spaces, especially the underground variety are really expensive, and said costs ate passed on to renters.

Hopefully the lack of parking spaces within these new buildings will incentivize walking and transit use.

Lastly, I must confess the developer of the pictured building opted to build underground parking. You win some you lose some.

Citifying cities in the good ol’ USA. That’s what I advocate. My story is one of watching the urbanization of San Diego, California. I’ve watched this place change from smalls-ville to something else.

That’s the raison d’être for my Damus feed; to comment on the changes to my beloved city undergoing citification.

If you’re into cities, city planning, public transportation, et cetera then join me.