An open letter to District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer:
As a resident of Point Loma for many years, and as a vocal advocate of traffic-control measures (reduced speed and flow) in our community, I applaud your team’s effort to encourage Nawal El-Eshki’s Traffic Department to take action on the part of residents on Del Mar Avenue.
We on Catalina Boulevard were encouraged when your staff worked in conjunction with the Traffic Department to install 35 mile per hour speed signs north of the fire station, a passive approach to inform drivers and ultimately attempt to reduce the excessive speeds along Catalina Boulevard.
Unfortunately, now a year later, we as residents are in the same position (at a minimum) we were prior to the signs going up ” high speeds and increased volume.
If you or your staff have ever attempted to cross Catalina Boulevard (in a car or as a pedestrian) at 6:30 to 7 a.m. or 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the unmarked intersections of Varona Street or La Paloma Street, you will find that you can wait upward of 5 to 10 minutes to cross from one side of Catalina Boulevard to the other (high traffic volume). Other times of the day, it’s even more risky in that, absent the high volume of cars, vehicles transit this stretch between Hill Street and Point Loma Avenue at speeds in excess of 50 miles per hour, 7 days per week.
Now comes my point and response to the traffic solution applied to the Del Mar residents’ complaint:
As a neighbor to the families that live on Del Mar, I applaud their ability to initiate a change in traffic patterns for their street but am disappointed that for them it’s all about making their quality of life better at the expense of other traffic corridors, i.e., Catalina Boulevard.
It would stand to reason that given the times of vehicle restrictions (6:30 to 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 5:30 p.m.) on Del Mar Avenue, the vehicles transiting to/from the point will no longer be inclined to travel down Caãon Street but instead will now flow on Catalina Boulevard to Chatsworth Avenue. I would suggest that the residents on Del Mar Avenue, like those of us on other thoroughfares on the Point deserve a comprehensive approach to traffic flow, volume and speeds.
Solving a problem for one street at the expense of another residential stretch of road is not a win-win solution. I would suggest that the Del Mar resident with the comments in the July 10 edition of the Beacon regarding those of us not supporting the traffic flow restrictions should realize that her peace of mind is coming at the expense of her neighbors and, sadly, she has not taken in the needs of the neighborhood residents.
My recommended action:
“¢ Traffic department and appropriate other personnel should conduct a comprehensive engineering study to determine appropriate traffic flow, speeds and volume for the entire area.
“¢ Speed limit signs ” solar-powered permanent speed-sensing light displays (recently installed on Leland Street/Kemper Street ” near the Midway Drive Vons).
“¢ Speed enforcement by motorcycle patrols with radar.
“¢ Encourage Navy/civilian workers at Naval Base Point Loma to use Rosecrans Street to Route 209/Caãon Street to reduce loading on Catalina and Chatsworth streets and relieve traffic congestion in residential areas.
“¢ Install crosswalk stripes at primary and secondary intersections along major thoroughfares.
“¢ Strategically place stop signs at key intersections to reduce traffic speeds.
I’m sure if you would [Councilman Faulconer] host/chair an open forum on the subject of traffic (volume and speeds) and invite the residents in the affected neighborhoods to this meeting with the San Diego Police Department and the traffic management group for the city of San Diego, you would get a number of concerned citizens to get actively involved in seeking a resolution.
As stated above, it goes beyond just shifting the volume of traffic to other residential streets but also includes the speed and flow of the traffic in these residential areas.
Please know you and your staff are welcome to sit at my house and view the traffic conditions both on weekdays and/or weekends to witness the volume of traffic and the speeding we live with on a daily basis here on Catalina Boulevard. We definitely would like your help to address this growing problem in our community.
Thank you in advance for taking a proactive approach to a comprehensive traffic solution on the point.