Construction Begins for Pedestrian Crossing at Train Tracks near Santa Fe Drive
The project should be complete by the end of this year.
If you’re one of those surfers or beachgoers who park near the train tracks when you’re heading to Swamis, getting across those tracks is about to get a lot easier and safer.
Yesterday marked the groundbreaking for a $5.9 million pedestrian crossing at the train tracks there near Santa Fe Drive and Coast Highway 101.
Right now, people heading to Swamis can take their chances and dart across the tracks, which is illegal, and considering more than 50 trains pass through here on an average weekday, also dangerous — or, people have to walk more than a mile to reach the closest legal crosswalk, which can be quite a chore with a surfboard or stroller in tow. The passageway under the train tracks, however, will soon provide everyone a safe and legal way to reach Swamis.
“This is a wonderful amenity for the community,” said Encinitas Mayor and San Diego Association of Government (SANDAG) Chairman Jerome Stocks during the groundbreaking, which was also attended by Encinitas City Councilmen James Bond, Mark Muir, Councilwoman Teresa Barth, San Diego County Supervisor Pam Slater Price and Solana Beach City Councilman David Roberts. “By adding a safe, grade-separated pedestrian crossing at Santa Fe, residents, beachgoers, and businesses in the area will benefit from improved coastal access and no additional train horns,” Stocks added.
More pedestrian crossings like this are coming to Encinitas. This is the first of four planned for our city, all of which aim to improve safety along the busy Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo (LOSSAN) rail corridor. The other crossings are planned for El Portal Street and Hillcrest Drive in Leucadia, and Montgomery Avenue in Cardiff.
According to SANDAG, the total cost of those four crossings is estimated at $25.7 million, of which $6.7 million in state and local funds have been identified. The city of Encinitas has contributed $1.25 million; and SANDAG has allocated $2.75 million from TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation.
SANDAG will build the project in collaboration with the city of Encinitas and the North County Transit District (NCTD), and construction should be done by the end of this year.
juerosteve
7:09 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Thanks guys,now Swamis will be an even bigger zoo and traffic on and around Santa Fe will become more congested.If you want Encinitas to become Tokyo why don't you just move there? I guess you werent satisfied with this mess you made on 101,nice work thanks for destroying our small town charm.
Mum
10:37 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
I'd have to say Im with you on this. I take week days off just to avoid the crowds (not just in the water) and that doesnt even seem to work any more. But it will cycle through. Once it turns into PB the beautiful people and the trend seekers will move on.
Have yout ried to hang a left on the Chersterfield tracks lately? And 5.9 million? How about some side walks...
William
7:28 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
$5.9 million. My God. Vehicles and people cross above ground legally, orderly, and safely all day at E St. and D st., why not build an above ground pedestrian crossing for 1/10th the money?
Insane. Absolutely insane.
Charlietheangel
9:49 pm on Saturday, March 31, 2012
My friend was (sexually) assaulted in one of those "squirrel tunnels". Above-ground bridge is safer, cheaper, and can be visually more appealing. Like so many other changes in Encinitas, was this put to public vote? Was it open at City Council? if so, could somebody let me know when that was?
Debi
8:46 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
I think its great! Just yesterday I saw two small kids elementry age crossing the tracks illegally and one was wearing headphones. Since I myself cross the tracks I think it is wonderful.
Aaron Stewart
9:49 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
5.9 million? The issue has truly never been safety. If you do not know how to cross a train track or a street safely by looking both ways, that is a personal problem. It is you City officials, police, and paranoid citizens who feel they need to parent everyone all the while benefiting from revenues by citing people for a messed up law. How about you put 5.9 million in renovating infrastructure already in place, like Beacons beach access.
Vent Rant
11:42 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Well said. I agree completely. Make low cost cross walks if safety is the issue.
What... we do not have the technology to have a few designated light signals when trains are approaching?
againstthegrain
9:58 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Sigh. Above ground crossings are what we need, not expensive squirrel tunnels.
William
10:47 am on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Am I reading this correctly, it's not just one crossing for $5.9 million, but four crossings for $25.7 million. Have we lost our collective minds? What's wrong with an above ground sidewalk pedestrian crossing? There could even me automated gates. Incredible.
shaun w.
9:47 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
>>above ground sidewalk pedestrian crossings>>
Presumably you didn't attend the years of public debates on this whole subject, If you had, you'd know the reason for the underpasses.
This is one of the topics where I feel our council did their due diligence and went with the most practical option rather than risk our Encinitas money chasing something that would have never happened, or just delayed it all for years.
Lynn Marr
2:22 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
I did attend the Planning Commission Meetings and also City Council Meetings re undergrounding the pedestrian railroad crossings. It was obvious to me that the majority of public speakers DID NOT WANT to underground what the City now refers to as pedestrian underground "bridges." The objections related to the enormous expense, increased crime and vagrancy in the tunnels, and the possibility of flooding if there was a power failure during a storm. Despite all of our objections, Council voted to approve the undergrounding of the crossings!
However, I would rather our City spend money on these underground "bridges," than in putting in five roundabouts on Old North Hwy. 101, eliminating a northbound car lane, and also providing many more parking spaces for private business properties, raising their property value, and future rental value, at the public expense. The City paid huge fees to outside Consultants who kept lobbying and lobbying for roundabouts. At the public meeting where the most people attended, and took a survey, well over 60% DID NOT WANT ROUNDABOUTS. Most of the residents do not want roundabouts, due to the increased traffic this will push on to residential streets. Roundabouts are not a good fit when we have no businesses on the east side of the highway, but rather a railroad track. Over a thousand people signed a petition against them. But more workshops were held, NOT as well attended, the data was massaged, and now roundabouts are "in the works!"
Jeff
12:05 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
I agree with everyone else, this is not the way it should be done.
Dreamer
3:38 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
I agree with the other posters. Sadly, for the cost of this tunnel they could have updated the sidewalks the length of Santa Fe Dr. (all the way to El Camino Dr.) and updated the (imaginary) bicycle lanes on Santa Fe Dr. as well, so that those of us living E. of I-5 could also access the beach safely without getting into our cars. I can't wait to see what decides to inhabit these tunnels during the night.
shaun w.
9:45 pm on Friday, January 20, 2012
The grant was provided for the rail crossing, not for anything we wanted
Judd Handler
6:16 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
Does anybody know how much an overpass would cost in comparison to an underpass?
William
7:34 pm on Thursday, January 19, 2012
It must be less than $25 million for four crossings. Grading, concrete work, etc... It would be peanuts compared to what they are doing. They need to tunnel under railroad tracks then ensure there is no loss of structural support for the tracks above.
Additionally, the tunnel needs a sophisticated drainage system, probably with pumps, etc... It will need both stairs and a ramp entry and exit to be ADA compliant. It is a big project compared to an above ground overpass.
Eric Simpson
3:51 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
I agree that an overpass, or grade-level crossing with automated gates, would be preferable to an underpass. Also, once people get across the tracks, they face an even more dangerous situation in having to cross 101. Is anything going to be done to make that safer? Anyone? Bueller?
Lynn Marr
5:41 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
I feel that the work had to be "started" so that the City wouldn't lose its grant funding. However, we don't have enough matching funds to accomplish anything substantial. And as Eric mentions, there will have to be money spent on making it safe to cross Highway 101 at Santa Fe. After ground was broken and Cottonwood Creek Park was initiated, it took over 12 years to complete that project. And the Hall Property "project" was "initiated" with nothing substantial done. I will be amazed if the initial tunnel is completed by the end of the year! We'll see how it's "coming along" in November, when we have our elections . . .
William
8:16 pm on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Maybe we can build another tunnel under PCH that pops out of the cliffs at each of the four crossings?
Lynn's comment about having to start as we need to secure the grant money only goes to illustrate the insanity of everything. We need to secure money from the State and Local Gov (presumably SD County) all of which are broke.... The core problem is the mentality of spending and spending when we have nothing to spend.
Think of it. We are starting a project for which we do not have the money to complete, as we are broke, to secure funding from the State and County, whom are also broke.
Incidentally, we have no resolution / $ on the Hall Park Wasteland. Why start a new white elephant when we haven't completed the other?
It is insane.
Mum
11:14 pm on Friday, February 3, 2012
Sat through Cesterfield light twice today. Everyone traveling from west to east seems to want to turn left ; and lo the left hand lane backs up into the intersection....
People..you can still get north from the right hand lane. If you are in the right hand lane proceed west through the intersection, go left on Newcastle, take a second left on Aberdeen (putting you in front of the aptly named Kook cafe, your probable destination) and then another right (putting you back on San Elijo). You can even go all the way down to Birmingham and do the same thing, without totally destroying traffic flow. It will take less then a minute and YOU can effect positive change that will immediately impact the world we live in.
Summer is going to be FANTASTIC!
Steve W
11:06 am on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Encinitas pedestrian tunnel
The issue isn't crossing the tracks (the trains come every now and again). The real threat is safely crossing the 101 where cars are traveling 50+ miles an hour and there are more of them. The city council is turning a blind eye at their responsibilities for installing appropriate cross walks, street signals, and reducing the speed limit. The city council is living in a time warp to think its 1962 Cardiff when in reality its 2012 and a major urban area with an aquatic Disneyland that’s free. The traffic congestion needs to be addressed. The community/pedestrians need to have access to the ocean. It’s not the tunnel or the train tracks; the city council needs to address the traffic and parking issues along the coast.
Mum
3:27 pm on Saturday, February 4, 2012
Oh man..please don't give them any ideas. We will end up with $250K Padagonia medians accented by parking meters.... What they need is a patrol car writing tickets for all of the moving violation insanity that is occurring. Keep writing them until word gets out. Its not right that local residents don't want to go to the beach because of the marketing circus they have created down there.
Bird Rock any one? Transient Bird Rock...
Lynn Marr
12:12 am on Sunday, February 5, 2012
Yes, we are becoming more like Bird Rock; in fact Bird Rock was used repeatedly as an example in the consultants/lobbyists' "selling" 5 roundabouts on Historic North Hwy 101 through Leucadia!
William
8:29 am on Sunday, April 1, 2012
Maybe they're smarter than we give them credit for. Since we are invariably headed toward bankruptcy, they want to get all of these dream projects end before the funny money dries up. I figure the state will go BK before us, but that will mean an end to deficit spending. Anyhow, In a few years, all the City of ENC will be doing is collecting taxes to pay the pensions of city workers. It'll be just one city worker (the mayor), managing the pension payments on a part time basis. Might as well pile it on while we can!