Looking Back at 2002 and Ahead to 2003

by Councilman Scott Peters
for the La Jolla Village News
January 2003

Happy New Year! It is an honor and a privilege to serve the residents of District One. I have appreciated the opportunity to meet with many of you over the past year to discuss ways to enhance the quality of life in the area. For my family the start of the new year is always a time for reflection on the year past and a time to look forward to the opportunities and challenges ahead. 2002 was a great year and by working together we will continue to get things done.

Nothing is more central to the quality of life of District One residents than traffic relief. That is why I was pleased that we were able to begin major projects in 2002 that will improve traffic flow. In La Jolla we started work to reconfigure and improve flow at the second worst traffic bottleneck in the City, the Ardath Road intersection. The newly reconfigured intersection, due to be completed this Fall, will improve the quality of life of commuters by reducing traffic congestion by 60%. We also completed the reconfiguration of the intersection of La Jolla Scenic South and Cardeno Drive, and paved major portions of Prospect Street, Nautilus Street and Torrey Pines Road.

In 2002 I also worked aggressively to promote a creative new approach to public transit for the North City called "Transit First". The strategy utilizes trolley-like vehicles or "flex-trolleys" that travel on tires on lanes and bridges dedicated to transit use and costs a fraction of the cost of a fixed-rail trolley. UC residents got a taste of this new technology when we sponsored a visit by the CIVIS, an example of flex-trolley technology being used in Las Vegas, to UTC and UCSD. The technology and know-how are available, and if we can form a lasting consensus around the Transit First strategy we can begin to make transit a reality in the North City area. Our challenge in 2003 is that there are still some who are not open to these new ideas, and the State budget deficit will pose a funding challenge. Although we face hurdles, I will continue to fight to create a public transit system that effectively serves this area.

As a coach and a parent I know that our quality of life is tied to our kids, the places we play and our ability to enjoy the outdoors. In 2002 we found major funding for and opened a wonderful new tot lot at Standley Park in South UC, and opened up new field space in La Jolla by re-turfing the often unusable fields at Torrey Pines Elementary School. Last year the City also signed a landmark agreement with the San Diego Unified School district that will expand field space by allowing the community to use fields and playgrounds at schools during non-school hours. We also made tremendous progress this past year on improving water quality at our area beaches. Due to our investments in sewer infrastructure and a strong public information campaign about storm water pollution, sewer spills are down 40% and beach closures have been reduced by 45%. We were also able to expand the recreational opportunities for pooches as well as people with the passage of the Doyle off-leash dog park in June, and we are looking forward to an early 2003 opening. I am committed to expanding our recreational opportunities and will continue to look for creative ways to bolster our strong gains in this area over the next year.

Keeping our neighborhoods beautiful and livable is essential to maintaining the high quality of life we enjoy in District One. In 2002, with the help of the University City Community Association we launched the UC Beautification Program with the planting of 57 new trees along Governor Drive. The next phase of the program will entail enhancing medians and landscaped areas and we will be holding a series of workshops to get community input on the plan. In La Jolla we began a major program to underground utility lines along La Jolla Scenic Drive South and La Jolla Mesa and the Council passed a plan that will expand the amount of money available for undergrounding throughout the City. Although the job will take years to complete, these new resources will help us to achieve the goal of removing this overhead blight from our neighborhoods.

2003 will bring challenges due to the budget woes of the State, but we will be vigilant in protecting the quality of life of San Diegans. I know that we can continue to make strong progress on water quality, increased recreational opportunities and enhanced livability of our neighborhoods, through creative solutions and community involvement. I am proud of the achievements we have made over the past year and look forward to working with you to make 2003 a terrific year.