Bird Rock light OK’d; Chabad decision delayed

Last week, La Jolla Community Planning Association board members approved a plan to install flashing crosswalk signs that are activated when a pedestrian pushes the button.

The sign will go in at La Jolla Mesa Drive where it meets Van Nuys Avenue. On July 8, a 67-year-old Pacific Beach woman was killed when she was struck and knocked onto her back by a truck as the driver was turning left into the intersection.

“The city originally tried doing some re-striping in that area to see if that would be enough to slow cars down and the feeling was, that wasn’t really sufficient,” said LJCPA president Joe LaCava.

Resident Ken Nordholm, who crosses the intersection frequently with his son who uses a wheelchair, recently had appealed to the Traffic and Transportation Board for action. He has been trying for more than a year and a half to get something done to make the intersection safer.

He said Friday that “it’s a good thing they’re doing something.”

Part of the problem in the area is that La Jolla Mesa Drive is used as a “bypass route for those in a hurry,” he said, adding that he hopes the latest solution will work.

Funds not available

Just when the new flashing sign will go in is unclear since funds are not in the current budget, they were told before voting unanimously to support the earlier recommendation from the Traffic and Transportation Committee.

LaCava wrote in an e-mail that “the earliest it could be constructed is 2009.”

It has been added to the city’s capital improvements list but funding has not been secured, he added.

Residents should work with the mayor’s office and Councilman Kevin Faulconer’s office to prioritize funding, LaCava added.

The contact for the councilman’s office is Thyme Curtis who can be reached at Thyme Curtis, (619) 236-6622,

TCurtis@sandiego.gov

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Chabad vote delayed

Also, at a request of resident Richard Adams, the board delayed making a recommendation on plans for a Chabad at 2466 Hidden Valley Road. The proposal calls for demolishing an existing single-family home and replacing it with a two-story, 11,666-square-foot structure to include a synagogue, a rabbi’s residence, a social hall with attendant kitchen and a small preschool.

The item had been on the consent agenda to ratify the recommendation of the Traffic and Transportation Board and the Permit Review Committee - which both said the project should be denied.

LJCPA secretary Darcy Ashley asked Adams: “Are you sure you want to pull that from the consent agenda because the recommendation to deny will go forward to the city.”

He responded, “Yes, I’m sure, I want to pull it.”