Pacific Beach residents want infrastructure changes to make walking between the Balboa Street Transit District and their community safer.
Residents also want a cleaner environment along that corridor, according to comments made during the Pacific Beach Town Council’s Jan. 17 meeting.
“It really is the entrance to Pacific Beach and this is a huge tourist area,” said Marcella Bothwell, a council director. “I don’t think San Diego should be presented like that, not just for tourists, but for us.”
According to Bothwell, the area is filthy and the volume of vehicle traffic along the way monstrous.
This was just one issue raised when the council asked the approximately 50 residents in attendance to help set its 2024 priorities. The council sought suggestions on how to align its volunteer work, lobbying muscle and organizing prowess more closely with the community’s desires.
The meeting generated 22 proposals among three categories – six council initiatives for new infrastructure or programs, seven topics to be explored at future meetings through presentations and nine local issues currently neglected by the city and needing a boost from the council.
“Everybody here has a role in the community,” said council President Charlie Nieto. “The town council is here to gauge what you guys are feeling and try to take some of those projects and issues (and) either find out where they are more appropriate to be taken on, or try to take them on ourselves.”
The transit district corridor was discussed by many. Agreeing it needed a thorough restoration, Joann Magill recommended signage reminding people not to litter.
Bothwell said the emphasis should be on cleaning and improvements.
“I think if we get the infrastructure cleaned up, people are less likely to throw (trash) out of their window,” Bothwell said. “They treat things better if (an area) looks nice.”
Karin Zirk said traffic signals controlling the flow along the route needed to be synchronized to favor pedestrians, pointing out dangers at the Garnet Avenue and Mission Bay Drive intersection.
“There have been a lot of great suggestions that people made to the city about (that intersection), but the city has done nothing,” Zirk said. “I know we have visions of the bridge or the tunnel, but I wonder, how do we move forward with a safe way to cross that busy intersection?”
Zirk noted there is a lack of sidewalks in certain sections of the Balboa Street Transit District, as well as on the north side of the dog park in her neighborhood. This forces her to trek all the way to Garnet to cross to the other side of Soledad Mountain Road, or jaywalk illegally.
“It’s kind of ridiculous,” Zirk said. “We have these things in our neighborhood, facilities that are supposed to be making our neighborhood walkable, and yet we don’t have sidewalks to walk there.”
The disrepair or lack of streetlights in certain neighborhoods was frequently mentioned.
“I live just north of Sail Bay and there is no light,” said Vida Carrico. “We had our streetlight in front of our house (out) for three years and have called every month for three years. Nothing. We’ve watched kids and people fall, not being able to see in the dark. Scary.”
Noting that city engineers had discussed in February 2023 two projects to modernize a combined 159 street lights in Crown Point and north PB, Nieto said an update would be in order.
Troy Cook said scheduled repairs have been pushed back to the fourth quarter of this year, according to his discussion with a city official.
Some residents were able to get solutions for their concerns that night.
Mary Brummer requested assistance for installing a crosswalk at Kate Sessions Elementary on Beryl Street.
“We walk our kids on the bottom of Soledad Mountain Road,” Brummer said. “It’s like playing (the video game) Frogger. But I still want to walk our kids to school.”
Bothwell, who chairs the PB Planning Group, said its Streets and Sidewalks Subcommittee could take up the issue.
Katie Matchett, president of beautifulPB, said the school route is part of the PB Pathways program and that might spur quicker action from the city.
PB Planning Group director Iain Richardson said a traffic service request for a crosswalk near the school was made two months earlier and the city is required to respond within 90 days to requests regarding schools.
Council director Trisha Goolsby said she would like a community expo created to gather PB’s non-profit organizations, local officials and businesses in one place so residents can get information about specific procedures and issues.
Eve Anderson said the council held such an event years ago,
“It was really helpful to have everybody in the same room,” Anderson said. “I think we learned more from each other as we were setting up tables. That was as helpful as having the public come in.”
Nieto said he felt the meeting’s discussion was “very productive.”
As for other local issues mentioned, they included changing dog walking hours on the Boardwalk, modernizing playgrounds in PB parks, PB Library cleanup and safety concerns, expanding Beach Bug hours on weekends and having clear signage for beach bonfires.
Residents requested presentations on the Short Term Rental Ordinance’s effects, traffic calming measures on Beryl Street, establishment of green islands for climate change mitigation and Crystal Pier’s structural integrity.
As for PB Town Council initiatives, suggestions included a “Pack it in, Pack it out” trash program for beaches, seawall infrastructure from Crystal Pier to Law Street, creation of access to Interstate-5 in La Jolla, landscaping or hardscaping of traffic medians, for Crystal Pier and community signage.
