With an eye on improving safety on the La Jolla Bike Path, the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board voted Nov. 18 to request green bike-crossing paint, a wider ramp and replacing a stop sign for riders where the path meets La Canada Street.
Chairman Erik Gantzel said the board in 2016 considered a variety of safety improvements to the bike path, which runs between Nautilus Street near Fire Station 13 and Camino de la Costa. The city of San Diego agreed to install green paint at path crossings, ramps and stop signs for cyclists.
But one crossing at La Canada Street lacks green paint and its ramp is small, according to Gantzel.
Resident Debbie Adams added that the stop sign for riders fell and hasn’t been put back.
The La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board meets Nov. 18 at the La Jolla/Riford Library. (Noah Lyons)
Gantzel said another resident reached out to the city about adding green paint at La Canada but was told nothing was needed there.
Though Gantzel expressed pessimism that the ramp would be widened amid the city’s budget woes, “it seems to me that [adding green paint] is a much less expensive and easier-to-justify improvement,” he said.
The board voted unanimously to recommend the green paint, a wider ramp and resurrecting the stop sign.
Other T&T news
Gillispie School expansion: Following a presentation at the La Jolla Planned District Ordinance Committee meeting Nov. 10, local architect AJ Remen made his way to the T&T Board on Nov. 18 to discuss the planned renovation of Gillispie School’s Fielden Hall, which faces Girard Avenue across from La Jolla Elementary School.
AJ Remen of Arista Architects describes an expansion project planned for Fielden Hall at Gillispie School in La Jolla. (Noah Lyons)
The project would add more classrooms. The intent is to complete the renovation of the exterior in the summer, when students are not in school. The interior renovation would be carried out when the fall session begins. The school’s parking lots would be the main staging areas for the work.
Remen said the project would not affect staffing or enrollment and would have minimal impact on Girard Avenue.
Asked about potential conflicts with the neighboring La Jolla Open Aire Market on Sundays, Remen said no weekend work is planned.
The item was for discussion only and the board did not vote.
Multicultural festival: In anticipation of the La Jolla Town Council’s Multicultural Festival by the Sea on Saturday, Nov. 22, at the Recreation Center, council president and T&T board member Mary Soriano requested support for a temporary closure of Draper Avenue between Kline and Prospect streets along with Cuvier Street south of Prospect Street.
The festival is set for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and the partial closures are to be from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., giving exhibitors time to set up before the event and tear down afterward.
The board voted in favor of the closures.
Next meeting: The La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board next meets at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 16, at the La Jolla/Riford Library, 7555 Draper Ave. Learn more at lajollacpa.org. ♦