Be Careful What You Ask For

by Councilman Scott Peters
October 2003

When I was knocking on doors, La Jollans told me that they wanted the City to invest in La Jolla. La Jolla has often felt left out of citywide investments because although we are one of the oldest communities in San Diego, and share many of the infrastructure deficits of other older communities, the perception is that La Jolla's streets are paved with gold. That is why I have worked hard to bring infrastructure investments to La Jolla. The effects of that investment, though, bring to mind the old saying "be careful what you ask for." The projects can often disrupt our daily lives due to noise or traffic delays. But if we want to fix the basic infrastructure of our town, we will need to put up with the short term inconveniences.

When I was elected in 2000, the city's record on sewer spills was a national embarrassment. We had not paid enough attention to maintaining our sewer pipes, and we were paying the price in bad publicity and reduced quality of life. In 2001 we embarked on a $900 million program to clean, televise, rehabilitate and replace much of our aging sewer pipes. The result, thus far, has been a 58% reduction in sewer spills and a 45% reduction in beach closures.

One of the other unfortunate results of the new pipe replacement has been the disruption caused by digging up streets to replace sewer pipes. Sewer and water projects are definitely not exciting, but they are the basic systems that protect our quality of life. Although working on them may cause some temporary disruption, the investment is worth the return in the long run. Replacement of 80-year-old water and sewer pipelines along Torrey Pines Road caused the throat realignment to take a little longer, and caused traffic back-ups, but the $8.9 million investment in La Jolla is proving successful at moving traffic efficiently, and we should not have to return to those pipelines for 80 more years. There are also concerns about major water and sewer replacements along La Jolla Boulevard. Bird Rock merchants have raised legitimate concerns about parking, dust and loss of business during the work. I have met personally with the project team and believe that we can address almost all of the merchant's concerns during this important project. The water and sewer pipes that are being replaced in this area are very old, and handle much of the flow from the southern part of La Jolla. It is important that they be replaced, and we can also be responsive to the needs of the affected neighbors.

Another welcome investment that may also cause street disruption is utility undergrounding. There are few issues that stoke the passions of La Jollans more than the visual blight of overhead utility lines. Until last year, the City had no process and no revenue to underground power lines on residential streets. Thanks to the support of the Mayor and City Council, we now have a program that will provide the revenue necessary to put utility lines on residential streets underground. By renegotiating our franchise agreement with SDG&E, the City will now collect $34 million a year dedicated to undergrounding on residential streets. Although we still have some issues to work out with SBC communications we should be able to begin the program soon. The undergrounding may cause traffic delays in some areas as crews dig trenches in the streets. Please remember that the disruption is temporary; the investment will last forever.

We are making other small and large investments throughout La Jolla. Beginning this month, crews will begin installing $2 million worth of low flow diversion systems at 14 locations in La Jolla to help protect our beaches from polluted urban run-off. We have new stairs at the Cove and Windansea, and a beautiful expansion of coast walk. We have secured the funding to build three new lifeguard towers at La Jolla Shores, The Children's Pool and the Cove. We have a traffic plan for Birdrock that will help beautify La Jolla Boulevard, and create a more walkable village like atmosphere. Our kids now play on grass fields where dirt used to be at Torrey Pines and La Jolla Elementary Schools.

La Jolla has been in need of investment for many years and I am proud to be bringing those investments to our community. Although you may be inconvenienced by a traffic jam or have to navigate a maze of orange construction fencing, please remember that the momentary irritation is the cost of improving our quality of life. My office is always available to help work through any of these issues and can provide help navigating the bureaucracy. You can also access information on many of the infrastructure projects in La Jolla that are planned or in process on my web site at www.sandiego.gov/cd1.