La Jolla traffic board recommends lighting crosswalk, adding right-turn arrow

At its Dec. 19 meeting, the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board (T&T) unanimously voted to make two recommendations to the City. The first was to light and restripe a school crosswalk on Soledad Mountain Road at Caminito Blythefield.

The issue with that crosswalk was brought to the board’s attention by Angela Whitesides, a resident of La Jolla’s Windermere community, who reported that she and her two children, ages 4 and 5, have had “a lot of close calls” with speeding vehicles.

Whitesides recalled three cars recently stopping for the crosswalk “when a fourth one caused a rear-ending chain.”

She elaborated: “The first car was pushed not dangerously close to us, but close enough. We just don’t feel safe.”

Board member Tom Brady stated: “What we really need is enforcement, but since we can’t get that out of the City, we should do this.”

The board also recommended a right-turn arrow on southbound North Torrey Pines Road at La Jolla Shores Drive — timed to coincide only with the left-turn arrow from the opposite direction. (Currently, that part of the intersection has a right-turn lane but prohibits rights on red.) That request was presented by La Jolla resident Simon Andrews.

Board divides

Fewer board members were on the same page regarding a request, from resident Frances Zimmerman, to remove parking spaces at north- and south-bound Fay Avenue as it intersects Pearl Street.

In a statement, Zimmerman, who did not attend the meeting, requested that parking be removed from BevMo to the corner of Pearl, making the turn onto Pearl easier.

Board member Aaron Goulding favored the idea, saying that two or three spots would be lost and “I don’t think it would affect business.”

Brady disagreed, objecting that La Jolla Veterinary Hospital “really needs those parking spaces” and that he’s “opposed to somebody making a suggestion, then not showing up at the meeting and not going to the people who are directly affected by it.”T&T chair Dave Abrams floated a continuance of the issue, which was unanimously accepted, during which “someone should petition the businesses in the area and see how concerned they are about losing the spaces.”

Also at T&T…

• To also be continued: A continuance also resulted from resident Diane Wall’s request for the lighting of a crosswalk on Fay Avenue at Genter Street. (Wall was also not present.)
• Still seeing red: During the public comment section, La Jolla resident Melinda Merryweather requested to have two items added to the agenda for next month’s T&T meeting: 1) removing the red curb from one side of Marine Street; and 2) applying to City to increase the parking time on La Jolla Farms Road from two hours to “three or four.” (Abrams agreed.)
• No more trolley-gagging: Also during public comment, former La Jolla Coastal Access Parking Fund chair Dan Allen requested that T&T formally recommend to the City establishing a shuttle service, or replacing the No. 30 bus, “because it’s in our community plan.” (Abrams agreed to add it to an upcoming agenda.)
• Doctor in the house: Dr. Allan Churukian asked the board to consider increasing the parking time in front of his residence from two to three hours, because he and other residents of his building, and their guests, receive “tons of parking tickets.” (Abrams agreed to make it an agenda item.)

— La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board next meets 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16 at the La Jolla Rec Center, 615 Prospect St.