The city is set to reduce the speed limit on 17 popular business corridors even as Fifth Avenue is open to vehicle traffic again after two years of being the Gaslamp Promenade, open for foot traffic only during popular hours.

Washington Street and University Avenue in Hillcrest; 30th Street in North Park; Adams Avenue in Normal Heights; Congress Street and San Diego Avenue in Old Town; and El Cajon Boulevard in City Heights are among the street segments expected to have lower speeds after a City Council vote this month.

Many of the street segments are in North Park and Hillcrest where Councilmember Stephen Whitburn told the San Diego Union-Tribune (SDUT), “Residents in my district have consistently called for slower traffic and safer speeds.” Whitburn approved of the speed limit changes as chair of the Active Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The speed reductions are made possible by 2022’s SB43 which gave cities more discretion in setting speed limits rather than automatically rising to whatever the 85th percentile of the speed drivers typically have on the street. In addition to the reductions, City Council is expected to pause automatic increases on 72 other streets where the percentile calls for higher limits, according to the SDUT.

Streets nominated for speed reductions came from City Council members last year, with City staff expected to add many more this year.

Notably absent from the recommendations is Fifth Avenue, which at the time of the nominations had bollards up each day from noon to 2 a.m. blocking cars from K Street to Broadway. The slow street program was abruptly ended in February after cost overruns amounted to four times the budgeted amount amid the city’s shortfall. Since then, the corridor has been open to cars at all times.

Mayor Todd Gloria and Whitburn released a joint statement about the change:

The Fifth Avenue bollard contract, which was managed by the Gaslamp Quarter Association, exceeded the amount the City told GQA at the outset would be allocated for program operations, which primarily entailed daily removal and replacement of the bollards. (The City Council authorized $100,000 from Community Parking District funds for the program for Fiscal Year 2025.) GQA declined to continue the program in light of its costs being higher than the authorized amount.

Gaslamp Quarter Association Executive Director Michael Trimble did not respond to repeated requests for comments. Trimble told el San Diego Sun the program cost $437,351.01 in Fiscal Year 2024. “That amount was paid entirely by the City. The cost for Fiscal Year 2025 was approximately the same. The city has always known the amount of this cost,” he said.

Several business owners have responded negatively to the news, with many decrying the change after so much effort had been put into enticing visitors to the Gaslamp amid sluggish downtown tourism in other cities.

Ruth-Ann Thorn, who owns two businesses on Fifth Avenue, has seen foot traffic to her gallery go down already and fears how businesses will be impacted come summer’s busy season.

The slow street was even a step down from the original idea in 2019 to transform the corridor into eight permanent plazas making up a promenade down from Broadway to L Street with plants, patio furniture, sculptures and even entertainment spots filling the roadway. The scaled back version was still deemed a success, with less chaos and new businesses moving in even as other downtown areas struggled post-pandemic. “It’s a slap in the face to the community and the merchants,” Thorn said.

People are also concerned about safety on the avenue, as pedestrians have gotten used to being able to walk in the middle of the road. Thorn told the San Diego Sun she already witnessed two near pedestrian-car collisions since the bollards stopped being raised each day.

SB43 allowed cities to reduce speed limits in business activity districts where at least half the occupants are dining and retail establishments. City staff are currently tasked to look for other San Diego streets where provisions allow for city discretion in setting speed limits, including on heavily-used pedestrian and cyclist corridors as well when safety is a concern for vulnerable populations like seniors, children and unhoused people in addition to the business activity districts.

Even as cars take over Fifth Avenue once again, potentially causing a dangerous crowding of vehicles and pedestrians, the city does have the opportunity to lower the speed limit below what it was before the short-lived promenade.

Photo credit: Dave Thomas