"It's a scandal that you don't have double tracking,"

NCT online: REGION: SANDAG, groups reach settlement

Excerpts:

A regional planning agency has agreed to try to accelerate completion of a second track on the North County coast and consider expanding the role of public transit the next time it writes a long-range blueprint for transportation projects in 2011, according to a settlement.

Encinitas attorney Marco Gonzalez, who represented Save Our Forest and Ranchlands, said the threat stemmed from what he termed the association's failure to develop a plan to curb greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. The state attorney general cited similar concerns in a November letter.

"We're building an infrastructure and a plan here that is totally unprepared to deal with the future," said Duncan McFetridge, president of Save Our Forest and Ranchlands, in suggesting that soaring oil prices and global warming ultimately will force people to drive less.

"I think our settlement is historic because it guides us toward a transit future," McFetridge said, in a telephone interview Tuesday.

McFetridge was one of the signatories.

According to the association, about 60 percent of the coastal railroad has two sets of tracks now.

"It's a scandal that you don't have double tracking," McFetridge said.

At the same time, Gonzalez said, "We recognize that the stretch along Del Mar is going to be problematic."

Association officials have said completing a parallel track through North County will require trestles over lagoons and a tunnel under Del Mar. A tunnel is fiercely opposed by many in the tiny, wealthy seaside community who fear it would ruin neighborhoods and the coastal environment.

But McFetridge said two sets of tracks would be beneficial for the environment in the long haul.

He said North County Transit District could run many more Coaster trains during the rush hour and every one would be packed with commuters, taking cars off the road and slashing emissions of greenhouse gases.

*"Wealthy" Del Mar is not the only issue. Double tracking through Leucadia without lowering the tracks will cripple our town. It will be impossible to get across Leucadia Bvld, leaving only Encinitas Blvd and La Costa Ave as options to access downtown Leucadia. Double tracking will mean twice as many dust clouds from 80 mph trains. Double tracking will mean long red lights at the Leucadia Blvd/Hwy101/Vulcan Ave intersection with traffic backing up Leucadia Blvd all the way to I-5, causing frustration, gridlock and yes, greenhouse emissions.

Leucadia Blog: Lowering the Train Tracks is the ONLY Solution for Leucadia

Art Wars at Leucadia 7-11

The Art Wars Club has received a great opportunity to paint a mural on a great location - the west side of the 7-11 that overlooks HWY 101 and Leucadia Blvd. So we decided to paint it in our Art Wars-esque way. It'll be live action painting in the flavor of those crazy abstract expressionists from the 50's, there will be live jazzy
jazz type music, and just good ol' hanging in the 7-11 parking lot (like old times).

From start to finish, it should take us about an hour to an hour and half, and starts at 2pm. So, if your cruisin' around the hood on Saturday May 24th (it's Memorial weekend), stop on by and pick up a slurpee and watch some paintin' happen.

That's Saturday, May 24th at 2pm at the Leucadia 7-11 near the HWY 101

check out: www.artwars.org

thx jerm

Walking to the Farmers Market (part 4)

This part of the path is the sketchiest section of our walk. It's odd that the path isn't on the other side of the concrete barrier. If a car were to swerve at us here, we would be trapped and crushed to death.

Approaching an odd part of the infrastructure. Note the people walking on the east side of Vulcan hugging the side of the road. Their destination was also the farmers market. You see a lot of people walking and riding bikes along busy roads in Leucadia.

This does not look up to code.

View from Vulcan Ave of the iconic Pannikin coffee shop in our historic train station. Just think, if you are one of the thousands who live in the neighborhood east of Vulcan, you cannot legally cross the tracks and walk to get your cup of coffee (not to mention that crossing 4 lanes of busy Hwy101 is very chancy). Instead of walking a few 100 feet, you have to get into your car and deal with traffic and the high drama of finding parking around the Pannikin. It's all kinda silly. It sure would be nice if you could cross the tracks on foot. If there was pedestrian crosswalks on the 101 I bet the local businesses would make more money.

Arriving at our destination. There is a pedestrian crosswalk up ahead but traffic was clear so we crossed at the street. You would think that there would be a stop sign or something right here at the school on Union Street, but there isn't. Weekday mornings here get pretty hectic as parents drop off their kids and commuter traffic tries to evade I-5 and Hwy101.

Looking north on Vulcan Ave from Paul Ecke Central elementary school. Here we have the feeling of a nice rural town.

Entering the school. It was Earth week and they were teaching the gremmies not to be wasteful.

We bumped into city council person Teresa Barth.

The Leucadia Farmers Market now has it's own grocery bags with Fred Caldwell art.

Lots of certified organic booths.

Four square.

Flower stand.

Vegetable stands.

Local farmers keeping it real.

Conclusion:
It really wasn't a bad walk, it was pretty fun all in all. It was nicer than driving. This was a fairly quiet morning, except for a few motorist who were driving way too fast. Most of the cars were cruising at a reasonable speed. No trains went by during our walk. You don't really feel all that safe, especially along the concrete barrier, but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We were tempted to walk along the dirt closer to the tracks instead of the goat path. I'm interested to know where the property line of the NCTD and Leucadia is. Why isn't the goat path wider? Does an extra 2 feet of asphalt cost a lot?

Stay tuned for the sequel, Walking Back from the Farmers Market.
Leucadia Blog: Walking to the Farmers Market (part 3)

Walking to the Farmers Market (part 3)

Leucadia Blog: Walking to the Farmers Market (part 2)


Continuing south on Vulcan Ave towards the farmers market and the massive Torrey Pine tree ahead. I wonder how old it is?

Looking back north. Our goat path is bleak but functional. In the distance the coast highway corridor looks nice, especially the old growth eucalyptus trees.
The majority of the traffic passing by on Vulcan seemed to be speeding. The big dip in front of the trailer park took non-locals by surprise and there cars would clank loudly when they hit it at full speed.

Another of the many Malboro reds cigarette packs that line the path (see part 2)

Heading in the right direction. Believe it or not, some people objected to the installation of these signs.

If you walk the entire Leucadia rail line you encounter many of these makeshift memorials marking where people have lost their lives by being struck by the train. Some are suicides and some are accidents. All are sad.

I've always wondered what lurks below Leucadia. C.H.U.D.s?

A small amount of beauty amidst the NCTD scorched earth zone.
to be continued...

Walking to the Farmers Market (part 2)

Leucadia Blog: Walking to the Farmers Market (part 1)

click photos for large view

So now we are cruising south down the Vulcan Ave goat path towards Paul Ecke Central elementary school and the farmers market. The path is narrow and listing to the right in many places so it's actually not easy to push the stroller.

The little dude checking it all out.

This chair is random. Notice the scorched earth of the NCTD rail zone. Everytime a train comes roaring through here at 80 mph it kicks up giant clouds of dirt that covers the downtown Leucadia in a layer of filth.

Biking to Sunday brunch.

Lovely bus stop.

There is a discarded empty carton of Malboro reds every 20 feet on Vulcan Ave. Most likely from the same person. This is a fresh one.

Walking to the Farmers Market (part 1)

How walkable is Leucadia? A couple of Sundays ago I took the family on a walk to the farmers market at Paul Ecke Central elementary school and decided to photograph our adventure.
click images for large view


Our starting point, the Leucadia Roadside Park north crosswalk, heading east across the historic coast highway 101, then across the train tracks to Vulcan Ave.

Crossing over. Note the horrible condition of this heavily used intersection. See, Leucadia Blog: The Lonely Pedestrian

The refurbished path across the tracks. See: Leucadia Blog: Slightly Less Dangerous Pedestrian Path added to Leucadia Blvd

Across the tracks!

Push zee button. Who or what is TLK? I see this tag everywhere around town.

Waiting to cross south on Vulcan Ave and Leucadia Blvd.

The Vulcan Ave/Leucadia Blvd intersection received this nice new pavement. Too bad the Hwy101 portion is in such poor shape, I wonder if that repaving and repainting of the lanes that was promised last summer will happen this year?
*Note the new sidewalks and landscaping heading east up Leucadia Blvd. There has been a drastic increase in pedestrians here from the surrounding neighborhoods.

Halfway across the red hand started flashing, hurry!

Follow the sign.

Looking back, you can see the orange sandbags which are now thankfully gone. The rumor is that stack of railroad ties are going in place of the sandbags. The coast highway corridor of Leucadia looks nice from this view but the immediate area is awful. This intersection not only has a total lack of landscaping, but there is barely even any plant life. Just a few small scraggly weeds trying to survive here and there. Very bleak, dusty and sad. This area is controlled by the North County Transit District or NCTD. The mayor of Encinitas, Jerome Stocks sits on the board of directors for the NCTD.

Let's head down this path towards the farmers market...(to be continued).

ORANGE SANDBAGS GONE! ORANGE SANDBAGS GONE! ORANGE SANDBAGS GONE!

click photos for large views

Nothing says Welcome to Leucadia like piles of orange sandbags placed at our central intersection.

These orange sandbags have been protecting Leucadia (and America) from erosion for some time now, but they wore out their welcome pretty quick because they are...uh, really ugly.

Check it out amigos, no more orange sandbags! Finally, they are gone, oh happy day.

I wonder if this area will ever get any decent landscaping?

What the Leucadia Blvd/Hwy101 intersection might look like with a native cactus garden.

The orange sandbags terrorized and blighted Leucadia, but are they gone for good?

Lowering the Train Tracks is the ONLY Solution for Leucadia

Leucadia rail corridor. Crossing these tracks on foot can result in a $1000 ticket.


Solana Beach underground rail corridor.

The Sunday UT features an Adam Kaye article about the frustration Leucadians feel not being able to take the shortest most logical route to school and businesses by crossing the train tracks (illegally), and instead having to get into our cars and driving 2 miles.

If you don't have a hard copy read the article online: Additional railroad crossings in limbo

The article gives you the impression that the city's desire to build tunnel crossings is the only solution.

Sooner than later we will have double tracking in Leucadia, that will mean 100 trains or more in a 24 period. Obviously pedestrian tunnels will do nothing to help the gridlock and frustration at the Leucadia Blvd/Hwy 101 intersection.



Train collides with vehicle at Leucadia Blvd.

Double tracking will mean more blaring horns and lots and lots of dust. The dust from the trains now is already unacceptable (the NCTD's scorched earth landscaping policies aggravate this problem).

Imagine, Leucadia's 101 coast highway business district finally gets it's streetscape program, pedestrians come out to shop and eat at our sidewalk cafes and what will their experience be? Hearing dozens of loud, obnoxious blaring train horns all day that drown out conversations and make babies cry.

The only real solution for Leucadia is lowering the tracks.

When one speaks of lowering the tracks in Leucadia the Thought Police are quick to chastise you, calling it impossible. But, with strong leadership, determined political and community will we could lobby the Feds and get it done.

It's something to think about this summer as we approach the November elections.