Encinitas will explore making immediate improvements to an intersection near Park Dale Lane Elementary, and it might eventually look into adding a traffic signal there, the City Council unanimously decided Wednesday.
Some simple, fast improvements are needed because many more kids could be at the school in the fall; half the students from Leucadia’s Paul Ecke-Central Elementary may be temporarily housed at Park Dale due to a construction project at their campus next school year, parents said.
The proposal to look into upgrading the intersection of Park Dale Lane and Village Park Way — a multi-lane road several blocks west of the elementary school — was put on the agenda by Councilmembers Jim O’Hara and Marco San Antonio after lobbying by area residents, including members of the Safe Streets Encinitas group.
O’Hara and San Antonio both said they had spent time recently viewing conditions at the intersection during the busy morning drop-off period at Park Dale Lane Elementary and were dismayed by what they saw.
Drivers on Village Park Way are coming fast down a hill and they often don’t “slow down until pretty close to that crosswalk,” San Antonio said. He added that he also saw drivers doing “California rolls” through the intersection, rather than stopping at the stop signs.
One solution, O’Hara said, could be to remove some vehicle lanes on Village Park Way — there now are three in each direction at the intersection, including turning lanes. The city could use that extra space for a pedestrian island in the middle of the crosswalk, he said, adding that the island would create a safe space as pedestrians cross what is now a 60-foot stretch of roadway.
San Antonio said he liked O’Hara’s suggestion. “You could fit a decent amount of kids with their bikes on that island.”
Short-term solutions could include adding light-flashing,“Children present” signs on Village Park Way and adding a second crossing guard, O’Hara said.
All of the public speakers said they wanted changes made. Brad Lefkowits, a Park Dale Lane parent who’s running for the District 4 council seat held by San Antonio, said he would like conditions to be improved not just during school drop-off and pickup times, but “at all hours of the day, every day of the week.”