The Pacific Beach Rose Creek Bike Path opened in summer 2021 and there were problems with graffiti and homeless encampments there from the start.

More than 2 ½ years later things have changed – for the worse, say local bicyclists using the Class I bikeway, which is completely separated from vehicle traffic connecting Rose Canyon and Rose Creek bike paths.

“I no longer ride there,” said Nanci Dalzell, who escorted Beach & Bay Press on a tour of the bike path after it first opened. “It’s disturbing and a public safety issue. I no longer feel safe: Graffiti, torn fences, litter, and homeless have grown exponentially.”

Added Dalzell: “I do what I can to help move these issues forward. But I’ve exhausted the issue and myself. The City needs to dedicate litter (control) and police patrol full-time to the path, which is a stain on our community, as the homeless have taken it over as their home.”

Another PB cyclist, Tom Coat, concurred with Dalzell’s view. “I biked the Rose Creek bike path and it was flat-out dangerous and a liability in waiting for the City,” Coat said. “The underpass near the In-N-Out Burger had tents, homeless people, and debris like shopping carts crowding the bike path.

“What is especially dangerous is that cyclists go from bright sunlight into dark shadows when entering this, and other, underpasses. We can’t see clearly for a few seconds because of the light differences. If a homeless person steps into the path of a bike, we probably won’t see him/her until it is too late to avoid a collision.”

Added Coat: “These public bike routes need to be safe or they can’t serve their purpose. As a matter of basic public safety, the City needs to clear tents, people, and debris from these underpasses. I complained about this dangerous underpass situation about a year and a half ago at PB Planning Group and the City did help clear the underpasses. Unfortunately, the dangerous conditions have returned.”

“I’ve heard some references to homeless individuals but not about encampments,” said District 1 Councilmember Joe LaCava representing PB. “Graffiti is a continuing problem (there) that needs to be removed. It’s in a pretty remote area, so you don’t see it unless you’re down near the creek.”

LaCava added the City’s recently passed ordinance restricting homeless encampments in certain areas “has some very strong language about never allowing camps in a waterway, or camps that change the configuration of a waterway, that we might be able to act on and enforce.”

Community activist and environmentalist Marcella Teran, who is Neighborhood Watch coordinator for Pacific and Mission beaches, said she, too, has major concerns about deteriorating conditions along the bike path.

“As a cyclist, I have frequented the Rose Creek Bike Path since it was extended in 2021,” Teran said. “The tunnels are dark for cyclists. Only two tunnels have dim yellow lights and the lights were out for over two years. I reported this outage to the City immediately but received no response. It wasn’t until Joe La Cava became our Pacific Beach representative that I was able to get a reply and assistance.”

There are other problems, too, with the bike path. “The tunnels attract criminal activity,” said Teran. “I often see people shooting up, or smoking meth. Trash is left by some of these people, and fences to the wetlands are cut so unhoused can find refuge in Rose Creek. Often I see shopping carts, furniture, clothing, and enormous piles of trash polluting this beautiful wetland area.”

Teran agrees problems at Rose Creek Bike Path have “become increasingly worse over the years. The water in Rose Creek by the tunnels has become more sludgy and often has a putrid smell of urine and waste as I bike by these areas.”

Added Teran: “If it wasn’t for the PB Town Council’s monthly cleanups, and the nonprofit We Clean Trails periodic cleanups that include this trail, the trash from the encampments would be even worse.”

So how can residents concerned about the Rose Creek Bike Path get involved and help to find a solution to the problems there?

Answered Teran: “Write weekly to the mayor, his community representative Emily Piatanesi, Joe La Cava, his chief of staff Vicky Joes, his community representative, Karla Tirado, and our City COO Eric Dargan at [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. It takes more than a couple of people to get these public safety problems addressed.”

Teran also offered these suggestions: Install better lighting in the Rose Creek tunnels; install GID signs along the trail; devote more money to the San Diego Police Neighborhood Policing Division; hold twice-monthly clean-ups in Rose Creek and the bike path; and promptly fix cut fences along the bike path.