very impressed by SD downtown

[CNYC]

Is there a bike path along the harbor in the downtown area ? How far does it go in either direction and do you have to stop at red lights ?

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by CNYC

Is there a bike path along the harbor in the downtown area ? How far does it go in either direction and do you have to stop at red lights ?

Yes, there is a bike path/walk-way along the water from Spanish Landing, south to Harbor Island, past the airport, past the cruise ship terminal (this part may be under construction at the moment), through Sea Port Village, around Embarcadero Park North, to and around Embarcadero Park South, and then all the way to the brand new Hilton Hotel where the Dole fruit carrier docks.

South and North of this will require you ride along the street, also through Sea Port Village you have to slow down since there is a lot of foot traffic in that area. Its all lighted at night.

This is my favorite jog in the city.

[CNYC]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

Yes, there is a bike path/walk-way along the water from Spanish Landing, south to Harbor Island, past the airport, past the cruise ship terminal (this part may be under construction at the moment), through Sea Port Village, around Embarcadero Park North, to and around Embarcadero Park South, and then all the way to the brand new Hilton Hotel where the Dole fruit carrier docks.

South and North of this will require you ride along the street, also through Sea Port Village you have to slow down since there is a lot of foot traffic in that area. Its all lighted at night.

This is my favorite jog in the city.

Nice. Is there a curfew or can you ride 24/7 ? My most memorable bike rides were on the LA bike path between 4-6am with a full moon. Priceless

[malcorub16]

I am pretty sure its 24/7 since there is no signage, but you won't find me there at 4 AM .

This path is for casual riding, I don't think its well suited for road bike guys in the tights because its also a pedestrian path and used by joggers and pedi cabs.

[CNYC]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

pedi cabs.

I didn't realize that SD had pedicabs. What a nightmare. They are a nuisance in NYC.

It sounds like the downtown path is very similar to our West Side Highway path. It isn't meant for riding just peddling around.

[moved]

SD has lots of pedicabs, but not as many as there used to be.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by CNYC

Is there a bike path along the harbor in the downtown area ? How far does it go in either direction and do you have to stop at red lights ?

It has some red lights you'll want to stop for, mainly downtown. There is parking between the bike path and the water, and cars will be turning into those parking areas.

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by yaya97

I accepted just accepted ajob offer in the rancho bernardo area and since we are urbanites, we decided to drive down from LA to spend the WE in downtown SD with the kids.

We were not expecting this all. SD is so beautiful, full of life, very clean, full of nice people. We did about 8 miles by foot ( all gaslamp disrict, seaport, little Italy... and then took the car to Balboa park). Iwas told SD has really changed in the last 10 years and I beleive it.
We looked at some homes next to Balboa and found them great.

We also checked out La Jolla...wow. Very $$$ but again beautiful. Carlsbad is nice but too far out for us.
I know everyone tells me its not doable to live DT and commute to Rancho Bernardo yet I would love to hear from people who do this.

You'll likely want to research your schools carefully, unless you plan to do private or home school.
I lived in Normal Heights with kids for 3 years; we did charter and home school for those years. A few parents I know had their kids attend Alice Birney k-8 in University Heights-borders Normal Heights and has many great homes/streets-though, curiously, not a university area at all. [Birney was newly transitioned at the time to IB program-don't know how it rates these days...It was poor prior to that.]
Other parents have kids at Grant Elementary in Mission Hills [this affluent area is adjacent to Little Italy and Grant is good]. You'd probably love Mission Hills as far as homes, urban feel, amenities but still neighborhoods. Lots of beautiful older/crafstmen homes right on the open space canyons there-where you'd never know you were *almost* downtown.
And many others attend various charter schools around the city, including SD Cooperative Charter, Explorer Academy, Albert Einsten German/English language IB immersion program, etc.
The SDUSD website has a list of charter and magnet schools if you're interested.
For high school, most do city magnet programs like high tech high or open enroll into LJ High (I have family who did this with their 4 kids), Mission Bay High, or a specialty performing arts school, science tech, etc.
A number of parents living in central SD-north and south park, normal heights, etc send their kids to private Catholic, even if not catholic.

FWIW, people here can often get by during the lower elementary years, at their local urban school...the older grades take a sharp nose dive academically, socially, school climate/culture, etc.

FYI: The top school districts in SD are Carmel Valley/Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, Poway, Carlsbad.
Penasquitos, Scripp's Ranch and San Marcos are also well regarded.

Good luck w/your plans....
great schools dot org has reviews and ratings. Global Report Card dot org ranks in context of global schools including singapore, european countries, etc.
http://globalreportcard.org/
Quite interesting comparison showing how, if your child was plopped down into one of such and such country's schools, here is where he/she would rank based on the district of origin. Useful if not entirely reliable, IMO.

[bloom]

^ Good post. For HS, San Diego High School, IS program seems very rigorous. Point Loma HS (feeder from Grant) seems like classic high school - 'good'. Seems the north county ones are more 'very good'.

[yaya97]

this is great! Thanks so much!