Drive the Debate: I-5 Express Lane Expansion, Bike Trails on Agendas

Should Caltrans build two express lanes in each direction from La Jolla Village Drive to Oceanside’s Harbor Drive?

Should a second rail track be built along the coast and a bike trail added?

Those and other issues involving the North Coast Corridor program will be up for discussion at hearings set for tonight (Wednesday) and Thursday in La Jolla and Carlsbad.

Proposals are part of a $6.5 billion project that officials say will be paid for through federal, state and local funds. The program is part of TransNet, the voter approved, half-cent sales tax initiative.

“The majority of the projects … are part of previously adopted regional and city plans, including the Interstate 5 Express Lanes project, improvements to the coastal rail line, new bike/pedestrian trails, and protection and restoration of coastal lagoons,” said a statement by the San Diego Association of Governments.

The hearing dates were publicized through Twitter and sandag.org, said SANDAG spokeswoman Helen Gao.

“But we decided to also send out an advisory [Wednesday morning], just in case,” Gao told Patch via email.

• The first meeting is at 6-8 p.m. today (Wednesday, April 3) at La Jolla Country Day School, 9490 Genesee Ave.
• The second is 6 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Carlsbad Senior Center, 799 Pine Ave.

“Meeting attendees will be able to make comments directly to court reporters throughout the two-hour hearings,” said a news release. “In addition, at 7 p.m. each night, participants will have the opportunity to give public testimony.” 

U-T San Diego reported that construction on the freeway stretch from Manchester Avenue in Encinitas to state Route 78 in Oceanside could start as early as 2015.