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North Park parking vs bike lane plan

A new plan to add bike lanes would eliminate even more street parking, and it's causing a divide in the popular neighborhood.

SAN DIEGO — Whether you live in North Park, or visit, you've probably felt the pain of finding a place to park. 

A new plan to add bike lanes would eliminate even more street parking, and it's causing a divide in the popular neighborhood.

"It's not us against the bike lanes, it's just where it's being done," said Peter Decoste, owner of Pete’s Seafood & Sandwich restaurant at 30th and Upas.

Decoste says parking is always at a premium to find as he shares only eight parking spots with six other businesses.

“We have a lot of elderly customers or people on lunch breaks, and for them to go six blocks is going to be a little too much, especially at night," he explained.

In a City of San Diego memo on May 16, Mayor Kevin Faulconer detailed the 30th Street Protected Bikeways Mobility project, which would cut 420 spots in order to meet the city’s Climate Action Plan and Vision Zero goals as the 30th Street Pipeline Replacement project in underway.

RELATED: Bike advocates urge North Park leaders to support bikeways along 30th Street

This means street parking would be eliminated along 30th Street from Howard Avenue to Juniper Street in South Park.

"There will hopefully be more people parking in the parking garage, but it means that there is going to be a lot of impact to businesses and a lot of impact to residents because if people can't park in the commercial corridor they going to the residence district park,” said Angela Landsberg, executive director of North Park Main Street.

Resident and business owner Jim Tuttle met with the mayor's office Wednesday afternoon, where he felt the city was not open to compromise.

“The city people are talking about removing all of the parking and putting cars on side streets where there are absolutely no parking spaces for blocks, they seem very adamant about it and our streets are already packed," said Tuttle who rents out property to residents who park on the street.

Decoste says he has put his life savings into his business and wishes there was more resident input into the city’s plan.

“I currently worked 1,200 days in a row building this business. It will be a shame if something like this either forced me to move without at least being looked into first.”

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