Guest commentary: La Jolla MAD’s recent landscaping puts attention on safety and beauty

Moving further into the fall season, the work of the La Jolla Maintenance Assessment District has shifted from an at-times singular and necessary focus on litter abatement and janitorial activities during peak tourist times to longer-term projects.

Recent landscaping efforts have focused on safety, upkeep and beautification. Low-hanging fronds on more than two dozen palm trees in public right-of-way areas were removed and hauled away.

In addition to weekly watering activities, landscaping crews performed detailed cleaning of the iris plants along Girard Avenue. Another project eliminated weeds in multiple tree wells along Herschel Avenue near Kline Street.

The limbs of several peppermint willow trees on Wall Street in front of the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library were trimmed. The branches were beginning to encroach on adjacent parking signs and required attention.

Much effort has been made in picking up dropped flowers from the African tulip trees in front of the Union Bank at the intersection of Girard Avenue and Silverado Street. When left on the sidewalk for any length of time, the large orange flowers stain the pavement as they get stepped on by pedestrians, posing another maintenance issue for nighttime pressure-washing crews.

A large empty sidewalk planter near the intersection of Prospect Street and Ivanhoe Avenue that once housed a ficus tree was filled with succulents, purple fountain grass and other drought-resistant plants. Filling this previously vacant planter with plants has prevented it from being further used as a trash receptacle.

Additionally, senecio cuttings borrowed from some of the planter boxes at the intersection of Girard Avenue and Torrey Pines Road were repurposed and planted at the base of several trees along Girard where recently installed agave plants had been trampled beyond the point of salvage.

Enhance La Jolla Day: Planning has begun for Enhance La Jolla Day 2022. The event will take place Saturday, April 23, and the theme will center around art and butterflies.

Board election: Voting in an election to fill several Enhance La Jolla board positions occurred online between Oct. 13 and 20. Results were announced during the Oct. 21 board of directors meeting.

The elected members are Steve Warfield and incumbents Barbara Bry and John Michaelsen.

Voting was open to all property owners within the boundaries of the La Jolla MAD.

If you see an issue needing attention in the district, please call Enhance La Jolla at (858) 444-5892 or email manager@enhancelajolla.org.

Mary Montgomery is district manager for the La Jolla Maintenance Assessment District. ◆