Newsletter October 26, 2020-B

Leucadia: Trenching the RR Tracks

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October 26, 2020 | View in browser

LEUCADIA RAIL CORRIDOR – IT’S TIME

The 101 in Solana Beach at Lomas Santa Fe Drive.

Could this be the future for the Leucadia 101 at Leucadia Boulevard?

In a 2013 Coast News article, Doug Fiske of Leucadia wrote, “Trains running at grade through Encinitas are impractical, dangerous and burdensome. The problems will intensify as rail, vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian traffic increase. Since the North Coast Corridor Project now includes double-tracking, it would show wisdom and foresight to simultaneously trench the tracks through Encinitas.”

Solana Beach had wisdom and foresight in the 1990’s. Carlsbad is showing wisdom and foresight right now. Will we be the City in the middle who lacked wisdom and foresight?

5 Reasons to Trench the RR Tracks through Leucadia

SAFETY – North Leucadia has the highest number of train deaths in Encinitas. When the second set of tracks are added, if the corridor remains as is, this tragic number will increase. Lowering the RR tracks and building multiple pedestrian crossings will provide safer access and is the most sensible long term solution;
ACCESS – Pedestrian crossings would be a required part of the design. This divided neighborhood will once again be connected and the east side will have easy walking and biking access to the shops on 101 and the beach;
ENVIRONMENT – The noise of passing trains will be reduced by the walls of the trench and train horns will no longer be blown; traffic at the intersections of 101 and Leucadia Blvd/La Costa Ave (after realignment) will flow more smoothly, reducing vehicle emissions;
FLOODING – A project of this magnitude would require extensive engineering for flood control which would finally address the long-ignored storm drainage in Leucadia and could reduce the water seepage on our bluffs;
AESTHETICS – The strip of dirt currently along both sides of the tracks can be reclaimed as parking, rail trail, and/or a linear park.

Above are images of trenched and lowered tracks. Click to enlarge.

How will we pay for it?

We have the benefit of following Carlsbad’s lead. Carlsbad Mayor Matt Hall explained the process to me and showed interest in sharing more information in the future about engineering, funding, and construction (coming soon). Funding would have to come largely from federal and state grants. This is exactly the type of project the federal government supports, and, with the added safety trenching will bring, our local NCTD and SANDAG should be interested also.

But, what about Streetscape?

Streetscape is a massive planned upgrade for the 101 through Leucadia that is now projected to cost over $55 million dollars, or $25 million per mile. It’s a controversial project fraught with concerns about emergency response times, the city’s likely use of eminent domain to gain control of private property for the roundabouts, and the traffic problems the one-lane design will create. Of particular concern are (1) the single traffic lane in each direction – it’s also a sharrow lane, to be shared with bikes, while there is a dedicated bike lane where the second car lane used to be; and (2) there are no planned pedestrian RR crossings in the design.

These concerns are unacceptable, and our City simply doesn’t have the money. It makes little sense to put us into debt for a design that doesn’t even address the walkability from the east side of Vulcan and ignores the problems at the intersection of Leucadia Boulevard and 101 – can you imagine the wait times after the second set of train tracks are installed and the number of trains doubles?

Solana Beach

Take a virtual drive along the 101 in Solana Beach and imagine what it would be like in Leucadia…

Click image for a virtual tour of Solana Beach along the 101 with Google Streetview. Grab the right-hand side of your screen to view the rail trail and parts of the trench. Click ahead to progress forward on the 101.

The Coast News article by Doug Fiske can be found here.

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VIDEO: BEACH TOWN OR BIG TOWN?

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Do we want wealthy outsiders deciding our future? I don’t. I reject dollars from developers. I know they expect a return on their investment. Instead, I’ll work WITH you and FOR you!