Interim Pedestrian Improvements Begin

Work begins on Leucadia sidewalks

Eight blocks getting sidewalks in $389k job

ENCINITAS -- Crews tore into aging asphalt along North Coast Highway 101 on Monday as part of a 90-day job to build eight blocks of sidewalks.

Bowing to pressure from merchants, the city is paying $389,000 to build concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks on the west side of the coast highway from Jason Street to North Court.

"There is that temporary inconvenience (during construction), but when it's over it's a wonderful thing," said Paula Kirpalani of the Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association.

Crews from Bonsall Construction Services have been hired to do the project and will work their way from north to south, officials said.

About half of the eight blocks getting sidewalks between Jason Street and North Court now have none. The stretch represents the heart of Leucadia's commercial strip.

The sidewalks are considered temporary, however, as the city moves ahead with plans for a much-larger street and sidewalk improvement program, from A Street to La Costa Avenue.

The North Coast Highway 101 Streetscape Program will unfold in phases, from south to north, with a first phase beautifying the highway from A Street to North Court. The city has saved $1.2 million for the work and an additional $2 million is budgeted through fiscal year 2010-11.

On Monday, the toil of an orange-vested road gang signaled the start of the so-called "interim pedestrian improvements."

The five-foot-wide, concrete sidewalks, curbs and gutters are considered "interim" because they may or may not be preserved as part of the long-term streetscape program.

To customize the fresh concrete, the mainstreet association has ordered stamps bearing Leucadia logos.

The association produces the events. Merchants and property owners belong to the association, which works to promote and revitalize Leucadia's commercial district.