2:00 a.m. April 4, 2009
SAN MARCOS: Construction of a pedestrian rail crossing at Marcos Street and Mission Road in the Richmar neighborhood could start soon, but a date hasn't been set.
The crossing will allow pedestrians to reach Autumn Drive on the south side and Mission Road on the north side. The crossing will have warning bells, lights and small crossing gates.
but we have to spend 25 mil to build underpasses? When is our city council going to get their heads out of their proverbial asses?
ReplyDeleteDid you all see the city Legal Notice in last week's The Coast News on page A23? The city is both applicant and appellant for an appeal of the Planning Commission decision approving the pedestrian tunnels under the tracks.
ReplyDeleteWhat's going on here? Evidently there is some condition the city doesn't like. The staff report should make very interesting reading.
Does it seem to anyone but me, that the more we citizens complain about something, the more likely the City will be to do just the opposite. For example, cutting down perfectly healthy trees? Underpasses, that no one wants. The list goes on. We all know the Scripps expansion will go to the City Council and be passed. We all know that no matter what we want, the City seems to do it another way. I am beginning to think that we should use reverse psychology on them. Tell them what we don't want, when we really want it, and we will probably get it.
ReplyDeleteStaff runs things - not council. Until we stand up and recall the boys nothing will change.
ReplyDeleteStocks, you got some 'splainin' to do.
ReplyDeleteI think the term you want is inconceivable". I've seen Princess Bride like, 50 times.
ReplyDeleteStaff follows direction of the city manager, who follows direction of the majority on the council. Teresa and Maggie are cut out. The three boys call the shots.
ReplyDeleteNever think that the staff is running the show all alone. They all want to keep their jobs.
I guess we agree the boys have to go.
ReplyDeleteYou say, "Staff follows direction of the city manager, who follows direction of the majority on the council."
Which is how it's structured.
However, in my view, the boys do what staff wants and keeps staff happy so they get big money from staff and the developers to run and win over and over.
No person employed by the city of Encinitas has ever been fired or laid off. They answer to no one but their god. (maybe Algore)
ReplyDeleteWhile the rule of law says they answer to the Council and the citizens of our town, it is the reverse, the lowest employees tell the bosses what they will do and wont do.
NCTD dangled a carrot to staff of a few million dollars for a feasibility study for tunnels. They bit and now want to spend upwards of 30 million dollars installing these nightmares. Staff will never use these tunnels and when the citizens don't next will come six foot tall chain link fences on both sides of the tracks with three strands of barbed wire atop. These will start at San Elijo Lagoon and stretch to Batiquitos. When the tunnels are built we will never get the tracks lowered.
Sounds about as good as roundabouts.
Yes, I got notice in the mail that staff is appealing the Planning Commission's conditions for approval of the negative environmental impact declarations. This was very unclear in the notice, but had something to do with the "span" of what the City is ridiculously calling "bridges," but which are dangerous underground tunnels, for pedestrian walkways under the tracks.
ReplyDeleteStaff spends its time and our money spinning its wheels on crap like this when PEOPLE DON'T WANT PEDESTRIAN UNDERPASSES. They would be unsafe in an electrical storm when electrical pumps could fail. They would be an "attractive nuisance," in that they would attract more crime. They are another diversion from what people do want, which is to eventually underground the train. This could be done, in part with economic stimulus money, and could provide jobs, and more open space, and would make for easier access for pedestrians to the beach.
When staff undermines Planning Commission decisions, as it did re the Hall Property recommendation to eliminate one filed and make access and egress improvements, and as when the three man majority on Council recently informed Teresa Barth that the tree policy manual COULD NOT GO TO THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSION FOR A PUBLIC HEARING, before public works brought it back to Council, and as once again is happening re the pedestrian tunnels, then Council is BEING A BULLY, ELIMINATING CHECKS AND BALANCES AND ACTING, THROUGH STAFF AS JUDGE JURY AND EXECUTIONER.
Please, do everything in your power to get Dan Dalager out of office next year. If someone actually has the ability to start a recall petition against Dalager and Stocks, PLEASE SIGN IT.
Out of state developer to get a piece of Encinitas government.
ReplyDeleteAgenda item #5 - At the next Council meeting, Phil Cotton and Jim Gilliam have a strange request for the Council, which the Council will get up to $75,000 in promised matching funds if approved. Information from the city on the non-profit foundation is sparse and shadowy. The foundation is based in Denver, Colorado and is headed by the CEO of one of the largest home builders in the country. In the previous two years, the Council has approved receiving donated money from the foundation for the community grants program.
pretty good Lynn impersonation 10:35
ReplyDelete"No person employed by the city of Encinitas has ever been fired or laid off. "
ReplyDeleteWe don't have to fire them. We just have to keep refusing redevelopment and they move to a city dopey enough to adopt it.
8:50
ReplyDeleteI think I agree with everything you say, except for bashing round-abouts. I drive through them just fine, and I'm a shitty driver.
I'll be pushing for an at grade crossing at Montgomery since the impossible now seems possible. The San Marcos crossing was built with CDBG money.
ReplyDeleteI do think whoever is saying a fence from border to border with cyclone wire is being an alarmist and completely inaccurate.
And, who is leading the charge to beat Dalager in 2010? The key will be to have a single candidate to oppose the incumbent.
I may not agree with burying people including our grandkids and fencing of the tracks, but I sure love roundabout and know all my neighbors do too.
ReplyDeleteVOTE NANNINGA 2010!!!
ReplyDeleteLet's pick 1 candidate that can actually win, how about that?
ReplyDeleteBOB, is tan, rested and ready. VOTE
ReplyDeleteNANNINGA 2010
"I do think whoever is saying a fence from border to border with cyclone wire is being an alarmist and completely inaccurate."
ReplyDeleteNot me. NCTD could give a turd about what their safety measures look like in Leucadia or any where else (i.e. scorced earth, orange bags, crappy orange plastic "fences", dousing tons of poison to kill plants and trees etc.). Not only are they removing our trees, our own city looks like they want to keep up with the Jones'. Losing our Eucalyptus alarms me more than a fence. But having fewer trees AND a barbed wire fence would double suck.
We should all endorse at grade crossing. Cheaper, safer and leaving open the option to underground the whole bloody thing. Unless of course they require blowing their horn more because of new crossings. And what's with this childish gene engineers seem to have that make them lay on a horn excessively?
I want to know what drugs the Jim, Dan and Jerry show are on. Bobbling Bobbleheads. And, seeing the next generation Joe Plumber, aka Doug Long, speak at the Planning Commission regarding Scripps -- the same plumber who thinks he is entitled to a council seat because he has attended every council meeting for the past seven years, but rarely (if ever) spoke, makes me want to regurgitate. How could a City with so many intelligent articulate people end up with the three stooges and a stooge in waiting?
ReplyDeleteVerde- I'm with you on this. If a fence were ever to go up we should take up a collection for metal cutters.
ReplyDeleteAnd, yes, if an at grade crossing went in the conductors are obligated to honk their horn.
But, if the train is trenched they will also need to fence it. Which would be worse than having done nothing.
9:18 and 11:16
ReplyDeleteUnbelieveable. Such bad taste is beneath this blog, JP. A lot of people read this, including Bob's family and friends. I thought I'd posted a comment yesterday, and it didn't make it through, so I'll say it again:
You are both assholes.
Mary, you are so right.
ReplyDeleteIt's really easy to live a life with respect, some of these folks should try it.