Sewer, water work to continue

Stand by for more dust and dirt in the Village now that 1st District Councilwoman Sherri Lightner has asked that sewer and water work continue until it is finished, which should be by the end of June.

In an e-mail sent Friday, Lightner aide Erin Demorest said the councilwoman made her request to delay the onset of the construction moratorium, which would have halted the work this week. The decision was “based on the recommendation of the Traffic and Transportation (TNT) Board and the majority of the merchants who have contacted our office,” Demorest wrote.

Lightner said it was her understating that contractors would not park their equipment on Girard or Herschel avenues. She added that the construction and repaving of the streets afterward is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.

On May 27, the traffic and transportation board voted unanimously to urge Lightner to support extending sewer and water construction in the Village through June 30.

Community support had been building to delay the moratorium when it became clear construction work on the long-term infrastructure project would not be done before the end of May.

Results of a poll being conducted by Lightner’s office at the behest of the La Jolla Business Improvement District Executive Committee, asking La Jollans whether they preferred infrastructure construction work to continue or stop for summer and resume again after Labor Day, had been overwhelming in favor of continuing.

“Forty people said they wanted it to continue and 10 people said they wanted it to stop and resume after Labor Day,” said Demorest.

TNT’s board endorsed a multifaceted motion calling for the construction moratorium to be delayed until June 30, that work be done at night including Fridays, that materials or equipment not be stored on Village streets, that streets be refinished following construction, and that a fine in an unspecified amount be imposed on contractors each day beyond the June 30 deadline.

The advisory group also was displeased with construction signage currently being used for the project, noting it is worn, too small and poorly place.

“We want signage to be clearly visible from the interior of any auto,” group Chairman Todd Lesser said.

Local residents expressed dismay to TNT about the amount of disruption construction in the Village has caused. They also talked about the need to ensure that dust and debris from the construction project is cleaned up once it’s completed.

“We had a backhoe in the crosswalk the other day,” said Rik Armour owner of MOS/My Own Space.

“They should be required to clean up the streets, not wait until next fall,” said longtime La Jollan Robert Collins.