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Encinitas struggles with Hwy 101 crossing
Can they coordinate with Solana Beach?
One option – signal at the seaside parking lot because of all the traffic making left turns in and out of the lot.
To build a long-imagined South Coast Highway 101 pedestrian crosswalk, Encinitas officials are leaning towards a road diet and median, while not ruling out options that include two travel lanes in each direction.
The Encinitas city council last week voted unanimously to accept $349,920 in state grant funding for the project, acknowledging it won’t be enough if they ultimately choose the option that would put a traffic signal at the Seaside parking lot with an east side pedestrian walkway.
Choosing from the three design alternatives the city came up with hasn’t been easy. Walkers, bikers, and businesses don’t all agree on what would work best. And since the project borders Solana Beach, it overlaps the plans and trails of two different cities.
The coastal rail trail is part of a regional network that stretches from Oceanside to downtown San Diego.
Solana Beach favors the road diet and signal-controlled crossing. Encinitas has resisted eliminating lanes. But both agree that with its downhill slope, the location at Harbaugh Seaside Trail invites speeding. People now travel from trails to Cardiff state beach “wherever it’s most convenient” — not where it’s safest.
Traffic and pedestrian studies conducted in the summer months of 2022 and 2023 show Hwy 101 at peak pedestrian time there were 150 walkers crossing, mainly at the trailhead, officials said.
To move forward with the grant, officials had to pick one of the options, which can be changed when the design is finished early next year. They chose a rectangular rapid flashing beacon, a pedestrian refuge island, and a road diet that reduces the number of travel lanes in each direction.
The location at Harbaugh Seaside Trail invites speeding.
Another option would keep the two travel lanes in each direction and install a pedestrian signal. A third, a new traffic signal at the South Cardiff State Beach intersection, would install a crosswalk on the south leg and a sidewalk along the east side of Coast Highway connecting to Harbaugh Seaside trails.
Rahul Deshpande, chair of the Cardiff Town Council, was against the proposed road diet that would reduce highway 101 to one lane in each direction, and urged them to support a signal at the seaside parking lot because of all the traffic making left turns in and out of the lot.
Solana Beach councilmember David Zito said a traffic signal won’t solve the safety problem because people will continue to cross from Harbaugh trail to reach Cardiff state beach, and cyclists will e-bike through the park to reach the existing protected infrastructure – “as evidenced by those who ignore the road fence.”
Studies show safety could be dramatically improved with the option reflected in the grant, Zito added.
Another resident urged the city to go with the second option, saying it was the shortest distance between the two sides and “that is where people want to cross.”
At a previous meeting, the council delayed a decision at the request of Solana Beach’s assistant city manager over concerns that the favored alternative might hinder plans to extend their rail trail northward toward the Encinitas city limits, which would convert one traffic lane to avoid rezoning and other issues.
The coastal rail trail is part of a regional network that stretches from Oceanside to downtown San Diego, and Solana Beach is designing at their northern boundary what public works director Deborah Scherler said is the “missing link” between Solana Beach and Encinitas.
“We have a goal of creating a seamless connection between the rail trail and the Harbaugh seaside trail.”
Despite the delay giving them more time, Solana Beach hasn’t come up with any new alternatives.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Encinitas struggles with Hwy 101 crossing
Can they coordinate with Solana Beach?
Encinitas struggles with Hwy 101 crossing
Can they coordinate with Solana Beach?
One option – signal at the seaside parking lot because of all the traffic making left turns in and out of the lot.
To build a long-imagined South Coast Highway 101 pedestrian crosswalk, Encinitas officials are leaning towards a road diet and median, while not ruling out options that include two travel lanes in each direction.
The Encinitas city council last week voted unanimously to accept $349,920 in state grant funding for the project, acknowledging it won’t be enough if they ultimately choose the option that would put a traffic signal at the Seaside parking lot with an east side pedestrian walkway.
Choosing from the three design alternatives the city came up with hasn’t been easy. Walkers, bikers, and businesses don’t all agree on what would work best. And since the project borders Solana Beach, it overlaps the plans and trails of two different cities.
The coastal rail trail is part of a regional network that stretches from Oceanside to downtown San Diego.
Solana Beach favors the road diet and signal-controlled crossing. Encinitas has resisted eliminating lanes. But both agree that with its downhill slope, the location at Harbaugh Seaside Trail invites speeding. People now travel from trails to Cardiff state beach “wherever it’s most convenient” — not where it’s safest.
Traffic and pedestrian studies conducted in the summer months of 2022 and 2023 show Hwy 101 at peak pedestrian time there were 150 walkers crossing, mainly at the trailhead, officials said.
To move forward with the grant, officials had to pick one of the options, which can be changed when the design is finished early next year. They chose a rectangular rapid flashing beacon, a pedestrian refuge island, and a road diet that reduces the number of travel lanes in each direction.
The location at Harbaugh Seaside Trail invites speeding.
Another option would keep the two travel lanes in each direction and install a pedestrian signal. A third, a new traffic signal at the South Cardiff State Beach intersection, would install a crosswalk on the south leg and a sidewalk along the east side of Coast Highway connecting to Harbaugh Seaside trails.
Rahul Deshpande, chair of the Cardiff Town Council, was against the proposed road diet that would reduce highway 101 to one lane in each direction, and urged them to support a signal at the seaside parking lot because of all the traffic making left turns in and out of the lot.
Solana Beach councilmember David Zito said a traffic signal won’t solve the safety problem because people will continue to cross from Harbaugh trail to reach Cardiff state beach, and cyclists will e-bike through the park to reach the existing protected infrastructure – “as evidenced by those who ignore the road fence.”
Studies show safety could be dramatically improved with the option reflected in the grant, Zito added.
Another resident urged the city to go with the second option, saying it was the shortest distance between the two sides and “that is where people want to cross.”
At a previous meeting, the council delayed a decision at the request of Solana Beach’s assistant city manager over concerns that the favored alternative might hinder plans to extend their rail trail northward toward the Encinitas city limits, which would convert one traffic lane to avoid rezoning and other issues.
The coastal rail trail is part of a regional network that stretches from Oceanside to downtown San Diego, and Solana Beach is designing at their northern boundary what public works director Deborah Scherler said is the “missing link” between Solana Beach and Encinitas.
“We have a goal of creating a seamless connection between the rail trail and the Harbaugh seaside trail.”
Despite the delay giving them more time, Solana Beach hasn’t come up with any new alternatives.