Encinitas has just received a preliminary ruling from the California Public Utilities Commission that will allow it to build two, long-sought, at-grade crossings over the railroad tracks in Leucadia, the city manager announced.
“This is big,” City Manager Jennifer Campbell declared at the very end of Wednesday’s City Council meeting as she announced the news and praised the “huge team effort” it took to get to this point.
Audience members cheered, council members bumped fists, and the mayor declared, “Holy cow.” The two proposed crossing points — one at Grandview and one at Phoebe streets — would go within a 1.3-mile stretch of railroad tracks between La Costa Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard where there currently are no legal crossing spots.
A CPUC administrative law judge, who has been reviewing the city’s application, has issued a preliminary ruling in favor of the new crossing points, Campbell said, calling this the “first big hurdle” to launching a construction project that’s been years in the making. The next step will be the judge’s formal ruling, “which we anticipate within the next three to four months, so, please, everyone keep your fingers crossed,” she said.
Project design and permitting work is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, and “funding for construction will be needed by the beginning of 2027,” Campbell continued. A project update posted on the city’s web site indicates that the design drawings were 35 percent complete by mid December.
Campbell noted Wednesday that Encinitas already is seeking grant money for what’s anticipated to be a $6.5 million project. Last fall, the City Council approved staff’s request to submit an application to the Federal Railroad Administration’s partnership program. The city will likely need to come up with $1.3 million in matching money, if its federal grant application is successful, she added.
Encinitas began funding conceptual design work for the project during the city’s 2021-2022 fiscal year, the project web page states. Then, in 2023, the council awarded an engineering contract for preliminary design work and the city hosted site visits with CPUC and North County Transit District officials, the project web page adds.
The CPUC administrative law judge began reviewing the city’s request last year.
Obtaining permission for new at-grade crossings — places where people can legally walk across the tracks, rather than using costly-to-build tunnels under the tracks or bridges over them — is extremely difficult, city officials have repeatedly stressed over the years. Railroad officials typically oppose such projects on safety grounds, saying it’s best to keep trains and pedestrians separate.
In making its case, Encinitas has argued that these two crossing points are much-needed because there is a “high volume of pedestrian and cyclist activity” near the railroad tracks between La Costa Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard, but no legal crossing points. On the east side, there’s an elementary school and many homes. On the west side, there are more homes, plus the beach and many restaurants and shops, the project web page states.
In order to have the two new crossing points, Encinitas will need to include special safety measures. City officials also plan to connect the two, new at-grade crossings to the pathways and bike routes that are part of the Leucadia Streetscape project on Coast Highway 101, west of the railroad tracks.