Is downtown San Diego bikable?

December 8, 2012 5:40 PM

San Diego: bikable?

I am going to a conference at the San Diego Convention Center in early January. Most likely I will being staying somewhere not too far from the Gaslamp Quarter.

Is it feasible to bring my bike and ride to and from the conference? What is traffic like around there? Anything else I should be aware of?

posted by number9dream to Travel & Transportation around San Diego, CA (7 answers total)

Yes, definitely bikable. The convention center is located on Harbor Drive, along which there is a dedicated bike path. There's a lot of auto traffic in the Gaslamp Quarter, but certainly enough room for a biker to get around without issue. I don't know that I'd want to ride around the GQ on a Saturday night, but otherwise I've spent plenty of time checking out the area on a two-wheeler without any issues. Bring the bike.
posted by BestiaDeAmor at 6:12 PM on December 8, 2012

Response by poster: And, I forgot to ask: is there any bike parking around the Convention Center? I tried to look on Google Street View but I couldn't really tell.
posted by number9dream at 6:23 PM on December 8, 2012

I was there for ComicCon earlier this year and locked up to a street sign just outside the convention center for probably 8 hours without incident. If bike parking isn't an issue during ComicCon (which is crazy), I can't imagine it will be an issue for a non-ridiculous January event.
posted by BestiaDeAmor at 6:29 PM on December 8, 2012

Eh, not a ton on the street but there is probably a pole or two to lock up to. There may be bike parking in the convention center garage- I'd check the website for that. I would not worry about locking the bike up securely in a busy place in public during the day unless it's a very expensive bike, it will be fine.

I agree downtown is somewhat bike friendly but not nearly as good as similar downtowns I've seen (like Austin, where I live now after leaving SD). That path along the waterfront is nice but the main streets in the thick of downtown do not have bike lanes for the most part, but traffic will not be too bike hostile, either. Keep your wits about you with respect to one-ways and cars pulling out of garages and watch for getting doored, that's probably the biggest hazard. Go slightly north into Balboa Park and there are dedicated bike paths.
posted by slow graffiti at 6:34 PM on December 8, 2012

Ask here.
posted by Doohickie at 9:06 PM on December 8, 2012

If you're staying "not too far from the Gaslamp" you could walk to the convention center without a problem. Otherwise, yes, bikable. It's a not-super-busy central city area.
posted by beerbajay at 3:14 AM on December 9, 2012

Response by poster: To follow up: biking around downtown was fine. The only problem was parking around the Convention Center, but it turns out there is a bike rack at the eastern end, near Exhibition Hall H (facing the Hilton).
posted by number9dream at 5:16 PM on January 21, 2013