Encinitas Historic U.S. 101 Proposed Changes

[andy3175]

For followers of the old route of US 101 in San Diego County, a change is coming to the section of Coast Highway 101 that runs through Encinitas. Similar to the section of Old US 101 along La Jolla Boulevard in Bird Rock, the city of Encinitas plans for roundabouts and other traffic calming measures for their core Coast Highway 101 corridor. From the U-T:

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/sep/12/highway-101-leucadia-redesign/

The city is proposing to overhaul the highway starting at A Street and continuing through the La Costa Avenue intersection. Plans call for adding roundabouts, eliminating a northbound lane and increasing landscaping along the corridor. The first phase of construction would focus mainly on the southern end of the roadway --- the part from A Street to North Court --- but a roundabout at La Costa Avenue also is included.

[T]he Encinitas City Council decided Wednesday as they voted to spend $760,000 on engineering work for the project. The decision was a compromise. City staff members had asked to spend $1.1 million so that designs for the entire 2.44-mile project could be created all at one time. A majority of the council wanted to do the design work in phases.

Many Leucadia business owners said the city should do all of the design work now and get the project launched as quickly as possible. Charles Marvin, owner of the Leucadia Beach Inn and a Leucadia 101 MainStreet board member, said the city has been talking about doing the Streetscape project since 1995, long before other North County communities started their efforts.

David Smith, a Los Angeles paramedic who lives in Leucadia, said he believes the city's proposed traffic roundabouts will delay medical response times in the coastal area and cause vehicle accidents. "Your primary responsibility is public safety (and) you are neglecting that,"  he said. After he made those comments, council members asked Encinitas Fire officials to reiterate statements they've made in the past saying that they don't believe the project will cause public safety issues.

Regards,
Andy