A half million dollars in federal stimulus money has been allocated to spruce up the northern gateway into La Jolla — namely the last leg of Torrey Pines Road from the village to the shores. More than a dozen members of the community banded together six years ago to study the corridor to make it safer for pedestrians and neighbors, and to beautify the area in a project called the Torrey Pines Corridor Study. “It’s probably the most significant project to come along since the Bird Rock corridor project,” said Robert Thiele, who chaired the Torrey Pines Corridor Study Committee. “This is the entrance to La Jolla on the north side and it’s really a gateway project that will benefit La Jolla for years and years to come for walk-ability and safety. It connects the village to the shores and from the shores to the hillside. It’s a very important triangle of walk-ability.” City engineers will start with $167,000 to begin the preliminary design work and cost estimates. The city plans to return to the community within the next three months to prioritize the improvements. The community will have a chance to revisit the more controversial proposal to install a pedestrian signal light at Princess Street, for example. The light will provide easier access to the beach for neighbors and pedestrians on the east side of the street but will also slow traffic. The idea is to redesign the street to make it safer for pedestrians to walk along the road and to open up view corridors to the ocean that are currently blocked by chain-link fences and construction vehicles. The plan calls for installing a 5-foot-wide sidewalk on the north side of Torrey Pines Road and removing utility devices from the path. A guardrail and concrete bollards will be installed along the road from west of Coast Walk to east of Prospect Street to protect the homes and pedestrians from wayward drivers. To help residents on the north side of the street make left-hand turns into their neighborhoods, the plans call for constructing a 10-foot-wide median in the center of Torrey Pines Road. The bluff on the south side of Torrey Pines Road is slated to be stabilized with a concrete stone wall, starting with a segment from Lookout Drive to Roseland Drive. To beautify the corridor, the chain-link fence will likely be replaced with a wooden fence. Little Street Park is slated to be landscaped, and the plan calls for creating a new pocket park at Amalfi Street that includes a bus stop. The plan also calls for tree plantings along the roadway and sidewalk. The plan further suggests establishing a maintenance assessment district to upkeep the new plantings.
