The North Bay/Peninsula Traffic Task Force met on Sept. 21 at the Midway Hampton Inn, located in the heart of the area the group planned to discuss.
The task force is scheduled to meet quarterly with an emphasis on small, inexpensive fixes that collectively improve the flow of traffic in what is one of San Diego’s most congested communities.
The task force was originally scheduled to meet in April of this year to discuss an incomplete study of Midway traffic by Meyer, Mohaddes Associates. District 2 City Councilman Kevin Faulconer requested the reunion after discovering that the consultant may have as much as $20,000 in unused funds. This study was not discussed at the September gathering due to the absences of two key members.
Faulconer began the meeting by reiterating his goals for this task force and ideas for the future of the area.
“I want us to look at short-term solutions, but never take our eye off the ball of the long term solutions,” Faulconer said. “Any future redevelopment in Midway/ Sports Arena, any communication for that has to improve traffic in this area, and if it doesn’t, then we have no business doing it.”
The task force is composed of representatives from community organizations, including the Midway Planning and Advisory Committee, Old Town Chamber of Commerce, Old Town Business Improvement District, Point Loma Association, Peninsula Planning Group and Peninsula Chamber of Commerce. Engineering and Capital Projects Department Director Patti Boekamp and North Bay Redevelopment Agency Project Manager Laura Gates represented the city.
Boekamp and her staff brought forward research on issues previously discussed, including a possible interchange from Interstate 5 South to Interstate 8 West that would redirect traffic away from Midway.
Currently, southbound traffic from I-5 can only get to Point Loma directly by exiting at Rosecrans Street. If an interchange were created, cars could take the I-8 West and exit at Sports Arena Boulevard/Midway Drive or continue to Ocean Beach and access other parts of the peninsula from Nimitz or Sunset Cliffs Boulevards.
According to Siavash Pazargadi from the city’s transportation planning office, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) estimated a cost of $200 million four or five years ago, though a project cost of $90 million was reported at the task force’s March meeting.
SANDAG does not have plans to do anything with this connector at this point, Pazargadi noted.
He explained that SANDAG is currently updating their project evaluation criteria used to prioritize all transportation projects.
A draft was developed and goes before the SANDAG board of directors on Oct. 13 for final acceptance. SANDAG will then re-evaluate and rank all projects and provide new cost estimates. Pazargadi said SANDAG would continue to study the area.
Faulconer said he would attend SANDAG’s meeting in October and encourages others to join him to “voice our support of moving forward.”
“The more we wait, it’s not going to get cheaper,” Faulconer said. “It’s important to get people at this meeting because this is probably the largest ticket item in this area from a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)/ SANDAG perspective.”
Geoff Lipsey, a representative from Faulconer’s staff, suggested analyzing the area and creating a model of how the connector could affect surface street traffic in the area to help force the issue. It is unclear if there is money currently allocated for a study of this kind.
While the study and model will take a long time to finish, Boekamp said, “You never get done if you never start.”
Another major priority at the meeting was increasing the left turn pocket on northbound Rosecrans Street at Midway Drive, also an issue discussed in March and marked for follow up because it appeared to have an inexpensive solution: re-stripping the lane.
According to Ahmed Aburahmah of the city’s transportation planning department, the evaluation for the proposed extended left turn pocket was not feasible, due to the time effects on the signal cycle.
However, a dual left would be ideal because it would not effect the signal cycle (the left turn pocket going southbound is also dual-left) and it would still allow for a short extension if need be. Aburahmah estimated that the construction would cost approximately $200,000.
“This will make a big difference,” said Joe Mannino, task force chair and executive director of the North Bay Association. “This may be the most significant traffic improvement coming out of Point Loma. It’s going to be unbelievable, making that turn.”
According to Boekamp, there may be enough money in the Rosecrans account to pay for this improvement.
Other priorities discussed included left turns made by exiting freeway traffic across Camino del Rio West, adding a driveway from Camino del Rio West for a group of hard-to-access businesses and the que-jumper on Rosecrans at Pacific Highway, also issues discussed at the March meeting.
Aburahmah, Julio Fuentes and representatives from Boekamp’s office, described the possibility of creating a left turn lane (with signal) at Hancock, which would minimize the high frequency of accidents occurring at the left turn pocket (no signal) located at the previous Moore Street.
According to Fuentes this would allow for a safe alternative to the dangerous left turn at Moore Street and also allow access to those businesses in question. While this issue is related to the driveway issue, Fuentes believed that both should be kept separate due to the high volume of one-way streets, which require further study.
As for the que-jumper on Rosecrans Street and suggested signage to help get people over to the left, everything was deemed adequate in the area, according to a report by Aburahmah, though he said he will accept specific suggestions and evaluate them.
With an already long list of items to consider, Mannino decided against Faulconer’s suggestion of meeting every other month. He instead suggested key individuals meet on specific issues when the need arises prior to convening the full task force.
The full group will continue meeting on a quarterly basis, with the next gathering tentatively scheduled for early next year.