District 1 City Councilmember Joe LaCava worked with state lawmakers to secure $2 million in state funding for much-needed repairs to the viewpoint and stairwell at Camino de la Costa in La Jolla’s Lower Hermosa neighborhood.
“The concrete stairs along the coastline there are in very bad shape, and we certainly do not want them to be closed,” said LaCava adding, “This was a very pleasant surprise, and timely.“
LaCava noted salt air creates little cracks that get into the rebar (steel bar reinforced concrete) which he said then “expands and starts tearing the concrete if you don’t get in there and repair it.”
The funding for the stairwell and other repairs came from the new $308 billion state budget signed June 30 by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Funding will serve a number of purposes at Camino de la Costa, from updating the design of the viewpoint there to staircase repair and improvements to the parking area of the viewpoint. The viewpoint is lacking appropriate striping for parking, no parking, and handicap zones.
Beach access is on Camino de la Costa just north of Bird Rock in southern La Jolla. At a sharp bend in the road, there is a small public parking area and a City-provided concrete stairwell that leads down to a sandstone rock platform.
The viewpoint is well traveled as, at lower tides, there is a sandy beach on the north side of this rocky point, and at very low tides, there are tide pools to explore in the area. Low tide also allows exploration to the south along the rugged shoreline that eventually ends below La Jolla Hermosa Park on Chelsea Avenue. Along the way, the ocean has carved shallow sea caves into the sandstone cliffs.
La Jolla architect Trace Wilson has been selected to do the repair work at Camino de la Costa. Wilson intends to draft a conceptual plan to be signed off on by local planning groups before presenting it to the City for final approval and execution.
LaCava pointed out that the City “has a large infrastructure deficit,” while noting the state has helped by “reaching out to local jurisdictions when they have some infrastructure funding issues.” The council member added requests for state funding for infrastructure improvements must come from eligible projects that meet established criteria.
“We were fortunate enough to gain the support of state Sen. and President Pro-Tem Toni Atkins, along with Mayor Todd Gloria, who agreed that this was an eligible project, and got that funding inserted into this year’s (state) budget,” said LaCava.
Concerning the timeline for the stairwell and other repairs, LaCava said state funding for the infrastructure improvement project has “a three-year clock on it.” He added, “Now that we have the City budget adopted, and the state budget adopted, we’ll be circling back with City engineers to talk about the next steps in the project.”
