Bird Rock may be known for its roundabouts on La Jolla Boulevard, but people driving over them and speeding on surrounding streets is drawing attention from residents.
At the July 7 Bird Rock Community Council meeting at LJ Crafted Wines, meeting attendees reported persistent speeding by cars and electric bikes, as well as motorists not stopping at stop signs and running over roundabouts on La Jolla Hermosa Avenue and Colima Street.
Among that group, La Jolla Hermosa Avenue resident Kurt Cornell said he witnesses speeding on a daily basis.
“I’ve lived there since 2000 and the (installation of) roundabouts dramatically improved Bird Rock, but the unintended consequence is people have discovered that you can take La Jolla Hermosa, one block over, which is wider and doesn’t have as many roundabouts,” he said at the meeting. “And they really speed on that street. Every day, all day long, the cars are going more than 30 miles per hour, and there are times in the evenings when they are going as fast as they can.”
Cornell also noted that the street is often used by joggers, people taking walks and bicyclists. He said the combination of heavy non-motorists usage and speeding cars on that street is “a recipe for disaster.”
Cornell opined, “Something needs to be done to address the constant speeding.”
BRCC vice president Christine McVay agreed, saying, “I don’t live on (La Jolla Hermosa) but I’ve noticed the same thing. People do fly down that street … trying to avoid La Jolla Boulevard.”
Because of these issues, she suggested the board explore whether adding traffic calming measures to La Jolla Hermosa might be a solution. One option that was raised would be the installation of speed bumps or speed humps, which are more gradual.
As a word of caution, BRCC president Joe Parker said people often complain about speed bumps or speed humps once they are installed.
“They are loud when you drive over them … and they can backfire,” he said, adding that other efforts to install speed bumps have been “a disaster.”
To determine whether that would even be an option, as a first step, the city of San Diego would need to conduct a traffic study for the area to see if additional traffic calming measures are merited at the request of a resident or organization. If deemed worthy of intervention, the project would be placed on a list for possible execution as resources become available.
After a brief discussion, the board agreed to either make the request or have a resident make the request on behalf of the BRCC to have a traffic engineer assess the area. Additionally, residents were encouraged to attend the upcoming La Jolla Traffic & Transportation board meeting on July 21 at the La Jolla/Riford Library to raise awareness to their Bird Rock concerns.
In addition to La Jolla Hermosa Avenue, Bird Rock Maintenance Assessment District representative Barbara Dunbar shared concerns about vehicles driving over the roundabout on Colima Street, causing damage in the process.
“The roundabout (on Colima) has been run over four times in the last six weeks,” she said, the most recent of which was the night before the meeting. “The northern portion of the roundabout has had drive-overs from what appears to be a large truck. The tree on the northeast corner of the roundabout had a six-inch branch knocked off, so (we think) it was a large truck.”
Dunbar said she is working with businesses and residents in the area to see if they have security footage of these incidents.
The BRCC next meets at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 6 at a location to be determined. Learn more at birdrockcc.org.