Traffic in Del Mar

By Henry D. I. Abarbanel

My plans for traffic control and safety on the streets

During this election season, I plan to write to you with my ideas on issues important to everyone in Del Mar. My overall goal is to work with you to maintain the character of the community we all chose to live in. I hope to communicate my thoughts on how we can do this together.

Today, I'd like to discuss traffic on our streets and safety for our families.

It is no secret that there is a "wall of steel" flowing South on weekday mornings and North on those afternoons along our main thoroughfare Camino del Mar (CDM). The daily flow of 20,000 cars consists primarily of people living north of here seeking a way to their work south of here. The number of cars by itself is unpleasant. The speeds and the apparent disregard of the drivers for those of us who live here makes the situation really unsafe and challenges our way of life.

It is unlikely that we can easily convince these daily commuters, comparable in number to about "a Solana Beach of drivers," to take alternate routes. We must address the problem with other tools. One of those tools, contained in our ongoing CDM Streetscape effort, will restrict the lanes along CDM. The idea is to make it more enticing for people driving along CDM to actually stop to shop and dine in Del Mar. I'll discuss the connection between safe traffic patterns and downtown revitalization in another issue letter.

While that long-term improvement project is underway, we do have means to address the safety problems caused by this "wall of steel" diverting into our neighborhoods along Luneta, Crest, Coast, Ocean, and elsewhere. These are not just annoying problems. I am told by friends on Luneta that they will not let their young children play outside the house because of the speed and volume of traffic during rush hours. These are basic safety problems that we need to solve.

We have had success in addressing some of the issues. The basic strategy has been twofold: breakup lines of sight along any straightaway longer than a few hundred feet and install enough barriers along the affected streets to make slowing down unavoidable. For the first, "curving" the roadway with bulbs protruding from the side of the street and giving pedestrians a safe haven from which to see the oncoming traffic (such as on Crest near Hoska) or installing islands with attractive vegetation (as on Via Alta between Crest and Van Dyke) help to achieve the goal. The second objective can be accomplished, with varying degrees of success, using such tools as drainage "dips" or speed humps, in addition to technologies not available last time we looked at this carefully.

I do not claim to be a traffic engineer. When the issues of traffic were addressed a decade ago, Rod Franklin, then mayor, and I undertook an intense crash course (no pun!) learning about these options. I have also kept up with the technology by working with a former student who designs "traffic calming" options for the State of Virginia. I am not an expert, but I think as a scientist I can be quite helpful to the process in all affected neighborhoods.

There is always a concern that any of these devices, barriers, etc will slow emergency response by our firefighters and law enforcement officers. I will continue to work closely with the Fire Chief and his firefighters to assure that whatever any neighborhood selects as a way to address its

There is no "silver bullet" to resolve all traffic issues in all neighborhoods at one fell swoop. The only way to do it is to work closely with each neighborhood having problems, understand the local geography and topography, discuss the options with all neighbors affected, and then devise solutions for public consideration.

I have consulted with the Deputy Sheriffs' Association about this--they are the men and women who know our streets well from patrolling them for your safety--and they agree with my methodology. They also agree that enforcement by their deputies cannot alone solve the problem. It is not only too expensive to have patrol cars on all affected streets 24/7, but when those officers are called to life threatening emergencies elsewhere, they're gone and the violators are still there.

What we need are well conceived neighborhood specific passive devices. Every neighborhood is different, and every neighbor within that `hood has different ideas and goals.

My pledge, which I have kept for many years, is to work with every neighborhood individually to assure that solutions requested of the City Council are well documented, technologically feasible, preserve public safety, solve the problem, and are cost effective. I will be there for neighborhood meetings, bringing in the Fire Chief, Sheriffs' Deputies, and traffic engineers as required. I have done it before, and I feel strongly that this kind of focused, personal attention is what is at the core of my commitment to building community in our City.

Working together we can accomplish one or two neighborhood calming programs each year, thus allowing us to cover the City within a few years. Although, we need to worry about the costs, careful planning in neighborhood groups will allow our annual City budget to reflect the cost effective solutions you and I can cooperatively create.

I am not certain that solutions we devise today will work a decade or two from now because our traffic problems have their origin in growth outside Del Mar and in transportation decisions made regionally. We have to face the fact that safety on our streets--to me the core issue here--requires our very long-term vigilance.

What influence do we have over decisions outside our boundaries that affect us in such a major way as traffic through our town by non-residents? In some ways, not much--we cannot tell people not to move to Carlsbad and never drive through Del Mar! In other ways, very much--as a City we send our Council members to sit on regional boards and commissions where we have a voice and even more importantly a vote. On many of these boards and commissions, our vote holds the same weight as larger cities such as Oceanside, Escondido, and Chula Vista! Our voice there will work for transportation solutions that encourage commuters to use other roads. I pledge to continue my constructive involvement in these regional bodies to influence decisions that secure the safety of our streets and the protection of our residents.

I have a record of working well with all residents in Del Mar; I do this best when I have your input. Please bring me your questions, your problems, and your priorities. Call me at 4812749 or e-mail me at hdiadelmar@yahoo.com . I appreciate your input. I ask for your vote on November 2 to re-elect me to the Del Mar City Council.

Paid for by Abarbanel for Council, 1110 Crest Road, Del Mar, CA 92014-2620 J. Rod Franklin, Treasurer