A Traffic Plan for Bird Rock

by Councilman Scott Peters
June 2002

La Jolla Boulevard is in sad shape. Properties are run down and rents are low. Landscaping is meager. Traffic zooms through at speeds that are intimidating to those who try to park or walk across the street. All this in the middle of Bird Rock, one of the nicest and otherwise most cohesive neighborhoods in all of San Diego.

The community has been hoping for beautification and traffic calming for some time. Before I was elected, the Bird Rock Community Council worked on plans to beautify the Boulevard and to make traffic slower and safer. I made this an issue in my campaign for City Council in 2000. In April 2001, I worked with the Bird Rock Community Council and convened "Bird Rock Week," a series of town hall meetings to talk about possible solutions. After those in attendance expressed their unanimous support for a traffic calming plan, I prepared to present that plan to the City Council. But at a heavily-attended community meeting in August at Bird Rock Elementary, it was clear that the community had lingering concerns and needed more information and input. Traffic concerns extended beyond the Boulevard to the side streets, which have experienced "cut-through" traffic. I readily agreed, and asked some of the Bird Rock residents to create their own concept for the entire neighborhood, both the Boulevard and side streets. My only instruction was that we not be satisfied with doing nothing.

The resident task force worked long and hard to address Bird Rock's traffic issues, but they decided this winter that they could not reach resolution without professional advice. We called on Dan Burden, a nationally recognized authority on bicycle and pedestrian facilities and programs, to help. Mr. Burden has 25 years of experience in developing, promoting and evaluating alternative transportation facilities, traffic calming practices and sustainable community design. He served for 16 years as Florida's State Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator, and he presently works as Executive Director of Walkable Communities, Inc., a non-profit corporation helping North America develop walkable communities. Mr. Burden held a design "charrette" in April to introduce traffic calming ideas to the public. He took input from all of the participants, and returned on June 8 and 9 to take more input and to finalize his report.

Mr. Burden told me afterward that of the hundred or so charrettes that he has conducted around the country, this was his second most difficult. He explained that in poor, run-down communities, residents are much more receptive to change. They appreciate change, even welcome it, because they see little risk in it. In Bird Rock, while the Boulevard is run down and could clearly be improved, the adjacent streets are gorgeous and quiet. Residents are legitimately concerned about how changes on the Boulevard might affect side streets. How do we raise the Boulevard to the quality of the rest of the neighborhood and not lower the quality of those areas toward the level of the Boulevard?

Mr. Burden and his firm worked with the community to analyze issues of traffic and speeds in the neighborhood. They proposed three phases of improvements. Phase One would include restriping a number of roads throughout Bird Rock to promote better traffic conditions and behaviors. Phase Two involves reconstruction of La Jolla Boulevard to include five "roundabouts," and the reconstruction of La Jolla Mesa, Linda Rosa and Colima; as well as other intersection improvements such as bulb outs and short medians. Finally, Phase Three incorporates additional roundabouts and traffic treatments around the neighborhood. The full and final report will soon be available on my web site, which can be accessed from the "City Hall" section of www.sandiego.gov.

Now that we see a vision taking shape for calming traffic and for making the Boulevard beautiful and safe for pedestrians, we need to move from vision to action. This month, the City Council approved the La Jolla Community Plan, and we are now poised to begin amendments to the "Planned District Ordinance" that governs land use in Bird Rock. Once our plan is in place, we can ensure that any development that comes to the Boulevard in the future conforms with and supports (with design and funding) traffic calming throughout the neighborhood. The community's ideas will be implemented in phases over a number of years, so it is important to be clear and early in laying out our plan.

The best aspect of this effort is that the community has developed its own plan instead of waiting for the city to impose one. That is the reason for the plan's success in gaining community consensus this month. Although I happily found the funds to pay for Mr. Burden's work, I did not direct that work. As we move from ideas to reality, our success continues to depend on community leadership. I hope I can count on your support and partnership as we move forward.