CTC vice chair spotlights decades‑long, multi‑jurisdictional Bayshore Bikeway effort

Vice Chair Falcone, a commissioner on the California Transportation Commission, used her plenary remarks to present the San Diego Bayshore Bikeway as a case study in multi‑jurisdictional active‑transportation delivery.

Falcone said the bayshore project began in the 1980s and remains under construction. She described it as a 24‑mile corridor that required coordination among five cities — San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach and Coronado — and multiple state and federal stakeholders including Caltrans, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Navy.

Falcone noted the project’s local economic effects where completed segments meet community amenities. She pointed to the Imperial Beach segment’s “bikeway village,” which has supported a bike shop, coffee and food businesses and an event space. In Chula Vista she cited a newly opened large resort that promotes bike rentals and uses the bikeway to attract visitors.

The vice chair described the project as politically and technically complex, requiring sustained championing from elected officials and coordination across public agencies. She told the symposium audience that Supervisor Greg Cox of San Diego County had been a longstanding champion who helped align partners and funding.

Falcone also framed the Bayshore Bikeway as an equity effort: she emphasized connections to communities that historically lacked access to waterfront amenities and cited the corridor’s potential to improve access to jobs and natural resources for underserved neighborhoods.

On funding, Falcone warned that the Active Transportation Program (ATP) remains oversubscribed. She said applicants asked for about $2.5 billion in the last ATP cycle and urged practitioners to leverage additional funding sources beyond the ATP to advance projects.

Falcone closed by arguing that even small, targeted projects — for example, sidewalk infill or school access improvements — can be highly impactful for communities and should be pursued alongside large regional connections.