by On Saturday, the Encinitas City Council was urged by educators and regional leaders to maintain the safety elements of the $4.1 million Santa Fe Drive Corridor Improvements Project.
The goal of the state-and local-funded project is to improve circulation and safety along a half-mile section of the drive that is frequently used by San Dieguito Academy High School students, staff, and family.
According to officials, the road and nearby streets have been the scene of several tragedies, including the June 2023 death of 15-year-old Brodee Champlain-Kingman.
At a news conference on Saturday outside San Dieguito Academy, Sen. Catherine Blakespear, D-Encinitas, was among those who made the case that it is imperative to continue making the route safer for bikes and pedestrians.
In order to improve our roads for all users and ensure the safety of schoolchildren, Blakespear, who obtained $3 million in the state budget two years ago to assist fund the majority of the project’s western phase, said it was desperately needed.
According to her, the City Council is now thinking about removing important aspects of this project, which would be dangerous, expensive, and wasteful. That would be a really bad error.
Building barrier-protected bike lanes and walking routes, reducing the speed limit for cars, creating a bus pullout space, increasing parking, and installing new curb and landscaping infrastructure are all part of the project.
According to Encinitas Deputy Mayor Joy Lyndes, the community in Encinitas is still speaking out in favor of safe streets and traffic calming. One excellent illustration of how a city might do this through traffic calming is Santa Fe Drive. Here, we enhance the safety of this school path by integrating vehicles, pedestrians, bicycles, and stormwater management.
She is in favor of adding bike lanes and sidewalk expansions to Santa Fe Drive and El Camino Real.
Michelle Horsley, head of the San Dieguito Faculty Association, shared those views.
“Students and staff safety in this busy area of our community is greatly improved by the protected bike lanes, new crosswalk, and traffic calming measures that are now in place,” she said. As educators, we prioritize our students, and we request that the Encinitas City Council follow suit.
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The council requested at least three redesign proposals for the corridor project in May, which would eliminate several of its essential components. Lyndes voted against it, and the council voted 4-1.
During public discussion, citizens of Encinitas frequently voiced their concerns about the project’s safety to the council. The project has been described as a legal hazard and a tragedy by several council members.
The difficulties of back-in parking on a busy route, the difficulties of large cars in small new car lanes, and the trip dangers caused by the stone-filled stormwater management areas close to parking spaces are some of their worries.
Later this year, the council stated, it would select one plan.
