Next step in completing Rail Trail

One of goals of the Coast Highway “road diet” is to make lanes for bicycles. But as California bicycle safety standards make clear, a Class II bike lane is not as desirable (or as safe) as a Class I separated bike path.

The Coastal Rail Trail is a planned 44-mile route from Oceanside to San Diego’s Santa Fe Depot. It is one of the major bicycle priorities for SANDAG and the coastal cities along the route. Oceanside is doing better than most of the county, with most of the stretch completed from the Oceanside Transit Center to the city’s southern border.

In April 2005, the city completed a stretch from Vista Way to Morse (along Broadway and then Myers). A second stretch, from Oceanside Blvd. to Tyson St. (the OTC) along the east side of the tracks, was built from 2012-2015. At the south end of the city, there is a physically separated lane that parallels Coast/Carlsbad Boulevard across Buena Vista Lagoon.

The one gap is the stretch between Morse and Oceanside Boulevard, across Loma Alta Creek. The long-distance cyclists ride on Pacific Street, but between beachgoers and auto traffic, this is hardly optimal — and makes it hard to rejoin the trail at Oceanside Boulevard. Completing this stretch also makes a safer (Class I) path through South O than any Coast Highway bike lane can ever provide: as long as there are cars driving along (and entering and leaving) Coast Highway, these bike lanes will never be as safe as a fully separated bike path.

Completing the trail across the creek has been on the city’s planning radar for several years, and it now appears that the project is once again moving forward. On May 13, the city will hold an open house about the missing segment from 10:00-12:00 noon at Buccaneer Park. The city and its consultant, Dokken Engineering, will be discussing alternative locations for the connecting trail and bridge across the creek, and is inviting cyclists, community members and other interested parties to attend. For more information or to RSVP, see the city’s flyer.