Alignment alternatives for South O rail trail

As reported earlier, the city is working to finish the Coastal Rail Trail from Oceanside Blvd. to the southern city limits at Buena Vista Lagoon. The public hearings have been held on the northern leg — stretch from Oceanside to Buccaneer — and the city is completing the engineering design as it (continues to) seeks state funding to pay for the trail and the bridge over Loma Alta Creek.

Meanwhile, this summer the city started the process to upgrade the original trail segment — Morse south to the city limits — to widen it and make it more suitable for cyclists and sharing between pedestrians and cyclists. The city created a Technical Advisory Committee with representatives fvarious staff representatives, and two residents: cyclist Tom Lichterman (chair of the Oceanside Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee) and South O resident Joel West.

Led by the consultants from Alta, the TAC held its first meeting July 19 and its second meeting on Wednesday. The slides from the consultants’ presentation are the bottom of this story.

For the past three months, the city has solicited public input, as the consultants identify alternatives and evaluate their feasibility. The goal is to hold additional hearings next spring and use that to recommend a specific option for council approval.

Public Input

The city ran a public survey with 343 responses so far; 65% were from the 92054 zip code (with an unknown fraction in South O). If you have not completed it, the survey (http://bit.ly/OceansideCRT) will remain open until spring 2024. The city and its consultants also had four public meetings that attracted 290 people:

• Aug 7: A public hearing at city hall
• June 15: at Sunset Market
• July 1: at Mace Buchanan Park
• Aug 19: at Buccaneer Park

Although the audiences were different, these public outreach events identified several common concerns: safety, lighting, shade, attractive landscaping.

Design Goals

The goal of building the rail trail is to allow and encourage more pedestrians and cyclists to use this Class I trail — to downtown, to South O, and to connect to the eastbound San Luis Rey River Trail on the north and the CRT through Carlsbad (someday) south to San Diego. The trail may not be suitable for the most serious cyclists (such as the bike clubs), but the hope is to attract pedestrians and casual cyclists who find the existing streets too intimidating. This would include both residents and visitors to Oceanside who want to explore the city.

The overall design goals are

• Replace existing 7-8′ wide path with a wider path that allows for simultaneous use by pedestrians and cyclists
• Design consistent with the newer stretches of the CRT, which call for a 10′ wide trail, with a 3′ paved shoulder on each side, and (where possible) a landscaping buffer on one side.
• Connect at the north to the new segment of the CRT at the south end of the bridge crossing the Loma Alta Creek, and at the south to the exit from the city on Coast Highway crossing Buena Vista Lagoon.
• ADA compliant paths (5% slope or less), both for wheelchairs and also for bicycle slopes.

Since the northern and southern terminus of this (upgraded) segment are decided, there are three major design choices:

1. Since the northern terminus is west of the tracks on Myers and the southern terminus is east of the tracks on Broadway, where does the trail cross the railroad tracks?
2. Connecting to an inland bike route at Morse Street
3. How to connect Broadway to the existing trail on Coast Highway.

1. Crossing the Tracks

The consultants have identified four possible crossing points: with the existing Cassidy Street grade crossing (either on the north N2 or south N3 side of the street), or an overhead crossing near Whaley/Morse (N1) or near Eaton/Vista Way (S3). In the diagrams below, neither crossing location is exact, although for N1, the further north the crossing, the lower the rails are.

Because the tracks are more submerged north of Cassidy than south of Cassidy, a Whaley bridge would not have to be as high as one near Eaton. That would make it easier to construct the slope up to a northern crossing, and thus being less expensive than a southern crossing. An underground crossing near Eaton or Vista was ruled out.

2. Morse Street Connection

Based on a suggestion by the community representative at the July TAC meeting, the consultants are now investigating possible connections from Morse Street, to connect to both inland South O and the Safe Route to School path to Lincoln and Palmquist. Community representatives at the Aug. 19 meeting at Buccaneer Park also expressed strong interest in a solution to that issue.

The design of a Morse Street connection is at a very preliminary stage. However, with the N1 option, Morse Street pedestrians and cyclists might connect to the bridge on the Broadway side. Either way, Morse Street might use the underpass along the south shore of Loma Alta Creek.

3. Joining Coast Highway

While there are good paths along Coast Highway across Buena Vista Lagoon — northbound on the east side, and bidirectional on the west side — connecting these to the trail trail pose several dilemmas:

• Northbound traffic needs to turn left across Coast in front of Angelo’s. This problem exists today, and was identified by local residents at the Buccaneer Beach workshop.
• Cyclists need to get from Broadway (a relatively quiet street) out to Coast Highway. Eaton (which is quiet but skinny) is one option, and Vista Way (which is wide but busy) is likely the only other option.

The safest option would be to exit south on Broadway and then cut across south of the Eaton homes West to Coast. However, that land is now owned by the Audubon Society, which in recent community meetings made clear they are not willing to have their land lagoon used for a bike trail. The city and its consultants are no longer pursuing that option.

Future Public Meetings

The consultants will develop a more complete analysis of these alternatives for public hearings in spring 2024. This blog will provide community updates for future hearings.

231025-tac-slidesDownload

Upgrading the South O rail trail

When completed, the Coastal Rail Trail will provide a Class 1 (fully separated) bikeway parallel to the NCTD line from the Oceanside Transit Center to the Carlsbad city limits. The trail currently stops at Oceanside Blvd., but the city has started design work on

1. crossing Loma Alta Creek at Buccaneer Park, completing the trail from Oceanside Blvd. to Morse.
2. replacing the substandard trail from Morse to Vista Way: the original trail built in 2003-2005 was only 8′ wide, instead of the 15′ standard on newer segments of the trail in Oceanside. The wider width is necessary to allow bidirectional travel and a mix of cyclists and pedestrian use.
3. connecting south from Vista Way to the city limits; the current trail along Broadway dumps cyclists out on the street at Vista Way.

The planned Loma Alta Creek segment (#1) is the dotted green line, and existing South O trail (#2) is the solid green line.

Finishing (and upgrading) this rail trail has been a top priority for Save South O since 2017. This will be on the agenda for the July 25 South O community meeting (6:00-7:15pm at the Moose Lodge, 2017 S. Coast Highway).

South O Trail Upgrade

For #2 and #3 (the South O upgrade), council approved starting the alignment study in February, and work has begun on gathering public input to shape that design. There are two immediate opportunities for South O to make its voice heard in this process. See also the city’s Coastal Rail Trail website for future updates.

August 7 Workshop

On Monday August 7, the city is holding a 6:00-8:00 pm workshop at the Civic Center Library downtown. The city and its consultants will provide an update on the project, and it will be a time that South O (and other residents) can ask questions questions of both.

This is the first of two planned workshops (the other in February/March 2024) before the consultants unveil their proposed alignment in the summer of 2024.

Online Survey

To understand what Oceanside, Carlsbad and other residents want for the the South O upgrade, the city has posted a 14 question survey at http://bit.ly/OceansideCRT If you fill out the survey before August 7, you will both know the questions the consultants are asking and also influence their thinking at the event.

When you fill out the survey, here are two observations.

• The survey doesn’t distinguish between South O and other 92054 residents. You should indicate in the remarks that you live in South O.
• When I joined a group in taking the survey, the six categories for Q6 (“What are your top priorities”) was confusing. Some clarification of these categories:
  • Access & Mobility refers to the part of the trip when you are not on the trail (e.g., if you bike to the harbor, the part from your home to the trail and the part from the end of the trail to the harbor).
  • Equity is a two-part question, a general one about “serving all trail users”, and a specific one about “historically underserved populations.”
  • Feasibility & Timeline is asking if you are willing to give up some of your lower priorities to get the trail made sooner.
  • Safety was the only question that seemed clear to everyone.
  • Sustainability was also clear to most, when it refers to “environmentally sustainable design practices.”
  • Trail Experience refers both to whether you will enjoy using the trail, and also if the trail is attractive enough to others so they will use the trail.

The alignment study will decide several questions about the preferred path through South O, which is not necessarily the same as the current trail. One key question is how the trail will connect from Eaton to the Coast Highway bike trail, since the Buena Vista Audubon Society has rejected the city’s request to have the trail connect south of Eaton using their lagoon property. Also, although the bulk of the trail (segment #2) is expected to utilize NCTD right of way, the question remains where exactly the trail will be placed along Myers and/or Broadway.

Finally, since the northern trail is west of the train tracks and the city’s southern terminus is west of the tracks, a key question is how does the trail cross the tracks? The options seem to be

• Continue to cross the tracks at the existing Cassidy Street grade crossing;
• Cross the tracks south of Cassidy Street, either under or over the tracks; or
• Cross the tracks north of Cassidy Street, either under or over the tracks.

Crossing Loma Alta Creek

Today, the current CRT goes from the Oceanside Transit Center south to Oceanside Blvd. There is no connection from Oceanside Blvd. to the existing (narrow) ”rail trail” that begins at Morse St., between Myers and the NCTD tracks.

The city has approved connecting these two segments with a 255′ long bridge over Loma Alta Creek, starting to the existing trail at the south end of Buccaneer Park, and extending north from the bridge to Oceanside Blvd. The trail would be 14’ wide — 10’ paved, with 2’ of shoulder on each side (all paved on the bridge).

In May 2022 the total project cost was estimated at nearly $11 million, with 80% of that coming from a hoped-for grant from Caltrans. The state rejected the city’s first application, but the city is still seeking to eventually obtain state funding.

Attend Buccaneer Park Workshops: July 10, 22

Save South O has been pushing for more than two years to have the city provide a holistic plan of the various projects plan around and near Buccaneer Park:

1. Completing the rail trail across Loma Alta Creek
2. The Loma Alta Creek restoration project, including creation of a pedestrian trail on the north side of the creek
3. Upgrading the bathrooms/restaurant building that serves Buccaneer Beach and Park
4. Redevelopment of the unused 7 acres freed up by the planned closure of the La Salina Wastewater Treatment Plant

In particular, the city has (repeatedly) refused to commit to using all (or even some) of the WWTP land for parkland, even though both parkland (and parking for visitors to use the park) need to be expanded.

Representatives of Save South O met with Park & Rec staff, the city manager, and council members arguing that the city needs to develop a master plan before building anything at the site. The development of the site (like other projects) was slowed down due to COVID-19, allowing the planning process to catch up with the schedule for these various projects.

Update: The city has posted a survey about existing and future uses of the park. We encourage South O residents to push to expand Buccaneer Park using the land freed up by the closure of the WWTP.

The city has now committed to hold two public hearings about plans for the future of Buccaneer:

Workshop #1:

Date: Saturday, July 10th
Time: 10am – 2pm
Location: Buccaneer Park – 1506 S. Pacific Street, Oceanside, CA 92054

Workshop #2:

Date: Thursday, July 22nd
Time: 9am-1pm
Location: Main Street Farmer’s Market – Corner of Coast Highway and Pier View Way

We encourage South O residents to turn out en masse at these meetings to advocate both for expanding Buccaneer Park, and for a design that maximizes the availability for park land for use by South O and the community more generally.

buccaneer-park-flyerDownload

Supporting South O plan for reuse of NCTD land

At Wednesday’s City Council hearing (Item #22), the council will vote formally on a plan developed in the South O community to expand pedestrian, bicycle and car access along NCTD right-of-way.

This is a win-win-win for South O residents. While there has been no controversy so far, South O residents need to email the city council by Tuesday night to make sure it is not derailed by last minute hesitation or objections. (We also expect a few residents will attend the 6pm public hearing). Residents should say they favor the city’s proposed agreement with NCTD to use this land to improve recreation and transportation options for South O residents.

This is tied to NCTD’s ongoing project to reduce fatalities from pedestrians crossing their RR tracks. As part of this, NCTD will add fences on both sides of its tracks between Morse and Eaton, i.e. on ether side of the Cassidy Street RR crossing. This is intended to prevent people from crossing the NCTD tracks, except at the Cassidy crossing and and the underpass at Loma Alta Creek.

Reuse of NCTD Land Near Cassidy Street

The South O proposal modifies the original NCTD plan to move the fences closer to the tracks, to keep some of the existing pedestrian paths, allow for right-angle (or diagonal) parking along Broadway between Morse and Cassidy, and make room for future widening of the Coastal Rail Trail. It also calls for a pedestrian footpath from the end of Morse Street down to the existing Loma Alta Creek bike/pedestrian trail.

As a result of the South O-city-NCTD discussions, NCTD will move some of their fences closer to the tracks to make more land available to South O. Wednesday’s vote is for the city to appropriate $350k in its 2021-2022 capital improvement budget for costs that NCTD will not bear, but must be paid by the city: adding the Broadway parking and creating the pedestrian footpath.

This plan was supported by South O community members at meetings earlier this year, including a January 21 meeting with Deputy City Manager Jonathan Borrego. Save South O and other South O community leaders are pleased by how cooperative both the city and NCTD have been on modifying the original NCTD plans to improve the availability of the land for local residents.

Changes to NCTD land between Morse and Whaley

Changes to NCTD land between Whaley and Cassidy.

Staff Report

Synopsis

Staff recommends that the City Council approve a Memorandum of Understanding and License Agreement with the North County Transit District (NCTD) regarding City use of property owned by the North County Transit District located on the west side of Broadway Street between Morse Street and Cassidy Street; and authorize the City Manager to execute all related documents.

Background

Last year NCTD completed a Trespasser Risk Assessment study that evaluated the incidence of railroad right of way trespassing within the Cities of Oceanside, Encinitas and Del Mar. … Upon completion of the study, NCTD shared a proposed fencing plan with City staff that included the installation of 6-foot high, black vinyl coated chain link fencing on the east and west sides of the railroad right of way, generally between Morse Street to the north and Buena Vista Lagoon to the south.

Prior to the fencing plan being presented to NCTD’s Board of Directors for approval, staff was contacted by a South Oceanside resident inquiring as to whether the fencing could be sited in a manner that would allow for additional parking along Broadway Street, between Morse Street and Cassidy Street. The resident also suggested that a similar design be considered for Myers Street in a manner that would also accommodate a possible widening of the Coastal Rail Trail. This could be accomplished by locating the fencing inward towards the railroad tracks as opposed to placing the fencing along the outward edges of the railroad right of way. The resident also requested that staff explore the feasibility of creating a pedestrian trail that would run from the western terminus of Morse Street, northward along the railroad right of way and connecting to the pedestrian rail undercrossing at Lorna Alta Creek.

City staff discussed these proposals with NCTD and their staff expressed a willingness to relocate the proposed fencing in a manner that would accommodate these options subject to the City agreeing to maintain and assume liability for those portions of the NCTD right of way that the City would like to improve with parking and/or trails.

The recommended Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and License Agreement (Agreement) would address the portion of NCTD right of way along Broadway Street between Morse Street to the north Lyons Park to the south and as further discussed below. White staff intends to further explore the Myers Street and pedestrian trail proposals, those improvements require significant further study and separate license agreements with NCTD could be pursued as those projects move forward.

Analysis

The proposed fencing plan for the Broadway Street area is included as Attachment 1. While members of the public have suggested that the area be improved as parking to the benefit of the adjacent neighborhood and beach visitors, staff believes there is enough land area available to accommodate both parking and a potential walking path or other public amenities. including a possible expansion to Lyons Park. At the request of the community, the informal BMX track area near Morse Street will be preserved to the maximum extent possible.

Prior to proceeding with the formal design of any improvements to the area, staff intends to solicit input from the surrounding community to ensure that their ideas for improvement are considered and that any areas of concern are addressed. If parking is to be allowed within the NCTD right of way, measures could be taken to prevent oversized vehicles from parking in the spaces as the City often receives complaints about oversized vehicles parking on Broadway Street for extended periods of time. At this time, the MOU and Agreement only pertain to the fence location. Any further improvements will require future City Council approval.

Finishing the Rail Trail — the right way

On Thursday, October 29 the city will hold an online webinar to discuss plans to finish the “Rail Trail” over Loma Alta Creek. The city is discussing building the final missing link, from Oceanside Blvd. to Morse St., thus connecting the Oceanside Transit Center to the city’s southern border at Buena Vista Lagoon.

The webinar will be held from 5-6pm, using GoToMeeting or a call in number:

• https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/922414485
• Phone Number: (408) 650-3123 Access Code: 922-414-485

The Future of Buccaneer Park

The changes at Buccaneer over the next few years will permanently change the park, the neighborhood and South O. The rail trail is one of four projects at Buccaneer that Save South O is carefully monitoring:

1. Restoration of the Loma Alta Slough
2. Completing the rail trail with a new bridge over Loma Alta Creek
3. Repairing/replacing the Buccaneer Park restrooms
4. Redeveloping the La Salina Wastewater Treatment Plant

#3 and #4 have been designed although no noticed public hearings have been held.

Restoration of the Loma Alta Slough

#1 and #2 have external funding and are closest to completion. They are directly related because the trail along the Slough will pass under the rail trail bridge, and connect to the rail trail on the North side of the Slough.

At its Sept. 17 public webinar, the city discussed its site plan for the restoration project. Below is the diagram the city presented (Alternative 1) how the Slough trail (in gray) connected to the proposed “Rail Trail” (pink).

Completing the Rail Trail

Next week’s hearing will discuss the latest segment, which is billed as the final leg in Oceanside of the “44-mile bike trail between the City of Oceanside and the City of San Diego.” .

The trail was/is being built in four legs, beginning with South O:

1. From the city limits to Morse Street — East of the tracks south of Cassidy, and West of the tracks north of Cassidy — which was finished in 2004.
2. From Morse Street to Oceanside Blvd. (West of the tracks) — the subject of the current plans
3. From Oceanside Blvd. to Wisconsin Street — completed in 2014
4. From Wisconsin Street to the Transit Center — completed in 2013

However, parts of this trail — both existing and planned — are not suitable for serious bicyclists. Here we concur with earlier efforts by the Oceanside Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee to build all legs at a width suitable for high-speed cyclists to pass in opposing directions.

Map of Oceanside Rail Trail (bypassing leg #2) from the San Diego Reader (Sept. 4, 2019)

Putting Actual Bicycles on the “Bike Trail”

The key issue is the trail width. While the northern legs are a proper width, the original leg is not wide enough for cyclists (let alone cyclists and pedestrians) — nor is the planned leg along Loma Alta Creek.

Here is the newest leg at north side of Oceanside Blvd. where it is nearly 11′ wide (15.8′ with the concrete shoulders):

while here is the original leg where it crosses Whaley Street, where the asphalt is 7’ wide (8’ with shoulders):

After making its original mistake, the city now realizes that all remaining legs must be built to national bike path width specifications. In fact, in September 2017, the city’s (external) design engineers widened the planned trail over Loma Alta Creek from 12 to 14 feet at the request of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee. See Appendix F of the city’s Rail Trail Project Study Report (October 2017).

However — according to last month’s public webinar — the Loma Alta Creek trail is planned to be 6’ wide; this is closer to a standard sidewalk (5’) than than national standards or the remainder of the trail.

Save South O’s Position

Below is the letter that Save South O sent this week to the Loma Alta Creek project manager, arguing that when the city builds the Loma Alta Creek trail, it needs to be built at a proper width.

Subject: Correcting plans for trail along Loma Alta Slough
From: Save South O
Date: 10/22/20, 4:08 PM
To: Justin Gamble

Dear Justin,

Thank you again for hosting the meeting last month to update South O on plans for the Loma Alta Slough restoration project. I wanted to follow up on one point that came up during the hearing.

Regarding the trail planned to connect Coast Hwy to the Rail Trail and Pacific St.: when I asked how wide it would be, I was told 6′. This is a reasonable width for pedestrian only traffic, as our sidewalks are typically 5′ wide.

However, it is inadequate for a Class I bike path, let alone for a path intended to combine pedestrian and bicycle traffic as the sole crossing between Cassidy and Oceanside Blvd. For example, the southern end of the existing bike trail (at Oceanside Blvd) is 130″ wide, plus two concrete shoulders of 30″ for a total of 190″ (15′ 10″).

As attached, the city’s own analysis (made by Dokken in September 2017 for the Oct 2017 rail trail report) rejected a 12′ trail width as inadequate. Instead, it widened the bridge over Loma Alta Creek to 14′ to accommodate an expected mix of bicycle and pedestrian traffic. Quoting from the memo:

The AASHTO Bike Guide … recommends wider paths of 11 feet to 14 feet if:

• Pedestrians comprise 30% or more of path traffic,
• The total volume of path users (all types) in the peak hour exceeds 300, or
• There is significant use by in-line skaters, children or trike riders.

Meanwhile, the “bike path” built 15 years ago between Eaton and Morse is only 7′ wide (8′ with shoulders) and is effectively a sidewalk, used by pedestrians, strollers, and families with children. Adult bicyclists do not use the path because it is not wide enough for cyclists to pass at normal speeds, even if there are no pedestrians or children on the path.

To avoid wasting money as was done on the first leg of the rail trail, I ask the city to revise its plans for a trail along Loma Alta Creek to use a width consistent with to the newer (Oceanside Blvd) segment of the rail trail, the bridge over Loma Alta Creek, and the AASHTO guidelines quoted by the city’s October 2017 Project Study Report.

Joel

Council should delay Buccaneer decision to next month

At Wednesday’s council meeting (Item #9), the city is planning to allocate $449,150 to spend on designing the Rail Trail over Loma Alta Creek. (Technically, the council is voting on approving spending up to $100k of city money to go with a $400k SANDAG grant).

While Save South O has for years advocated completing the rail trail for many years, we are strongly opposed to this being approved this month. We have three reasons: budget, transparency and public participation.

To resolve these issues, we ask that the city postpone this item 2-4 weeks (until its April 8 or April 22 meeting) so these issues can be addressed. We ask that you email the council to support this postponement, and send the same information to the city clerk.

1. Budget Uncertainties

The city, state, country and world are in uncharted territory with the economic dislocations created by efforts to fight COVID-19. While health officials can learn from earlier pandemics, economists don’t know the impact of widespread suspension of business by California and other states.

In 2019-2020, 64% of the city’s revenues come from four sources: property tax, hotel (TOT) tax, and regular and Prop X sales tax. These total $110.91m of the $173.48m budget, or 64%.

We can expect that hotel, bar and sit-down restaurant revenues will nearly zero as long as the state mandated shutdowns (which began March 15) continue. The most optimistic predictions have life returning to normal in April or May, but on Saturday the county’s health department said county residents should be prepared for the shutdown to last 3-4 months, i.e. into July. In addition, many workers laid off from these businesses will be struggling to make basic purchases like food or housing (neither of which generate sales tax), let alone dining out or shopping for cars, clothes or consumer electronics (which are taxed).

Second, the city’s budget for next year assumes a 7.9% increase in property tax revenues. Some of that would come from new properties, but other aspects depend on increases in property valuation. With the stock market falling by one-third (so far) in the past month — and the newly laid off workers — residential prices are likely to fall as they did in 2006-2011 (even if not as far). The likely bankruptcy of retail businesses will also hurt commercial property tax revenues.

All considered, it seems likely that the city will have a $5-15m shortfall in calendar 2020, i.e. the last 4 months of 19-20 and the first 6 months of 20-21.

The city is considering promising up to $100k (20% match to SANDAG’s $400k grant) for this work. The prudent thing to do is to wait a few weeks so that the finance staff can prepare revised budget projections based on the dramatic change in the local economic conditions.

2a. Transparency on Buccaneer

In the past 10 months, Save South O has been trying to get the city to show all its cards on plans for Buccaneer.  It has five projects in various stages of completion:

1. The rail trail across the east side of the park
2. Restoring Loma Alta Creek
3. Replacing the bathrooms
4. Building a lift station to replace the La Salina Wastewater Treatment Plant
5. Repurposing the remaining 7 acres of La Salina for condos, a hotel, parkland, or something else

We have met with the respective project managers, city official, and three members of the council. The city still refuses to provide a master plan for these five Buccaneer projects — a map and schedule — show how all of these impact each other. For example, whether the bathroom (or lift station) is built may become obsolete if later uses on the rest of the park mean it’s blocking public access to part of the park. This plan for the Buccaneer area needs to be made consistent with the city’s new Parks and Recreation Master Plan approved by the city in Fall 2019.

We do not believe it’s fiscally prudent to continue spending until these issues are resolved. Save South O will continue to testify against spending any money on planning or implementing permanent improvements at Buccaneer until the city shows the public how all the pieces fit together.

2b. Transparency on the Rail Trail

The city held a public “information meeting” on May 13, 2017 for the rail trail at Buccaneer Park, and has not held a notice public hearing on the design. However, while  the city last updated its project disclosures on its website in October 2017, it has since been sharing information with specific interest groups — which may or may not be the same as was posted in 2017. But the 2017 drawings show the trail will cut off the easternmost stripof the existing park, with no plan to replace that lost acreage.

Dokken Engineering, Project Study Report, October 2017, p. 21

Composite of 2017 Project Study Report, pp. 28-29

None of this information is in the staff packet. The city knows what it wants Dokken do, but a) this is not in the packet b) the city has not held a noticed public hearing on this project since March 14, 2018 (when it voted to apply for the SANDAG grant).

Therefore, we ask the council to postpone allocating the funds until there is a public hearing on the status of the project and future plans.

3. Public Input

Wednesday will be the city’s first full council meeting since the COVID-19 crisis, under new rules that ban in-person participation by the public (in response to state mandates).

The city has put into place new rules for public participation:

Due to applicable Public Health Orders issued by the County Health Officer, the City Council chambers will not be open to the public and City Council members have the option of participating telephonically. Members of the public are strongly encouraged to watch the meeting on KOCT Cox Channel 19 (live streaming service available at www.koct.org/channel-19) and provide written comments on agenda items via email at cityclerk@oceansideca.org .Comments will be received until the Mayor calls the item. All timely received comments will be provided to the City Council.

Members of the public may also provide telephonic comments on each agenda item. In order to provide a telephonic comment, members of the public may call (760) 435-5999. When prompted, the caller should identify the agenda item they wish to speak about and leave a message not to exceed three minutes. All timely received telephonic comments will be shared with the members of the City Council and will be made publicly available at on the city’s webpage at http://www.ci.oceanside.ca.us/gov/council/ac.asp The deadline to leave a telephonic comment is noon on March 25, 2020.

For the first meeting, it is not clear how these policies will work. Will any of them be included in the public broadcast of the hearing? Will every council member hear every comment and read every written submission, the way that in person public testimony is heard?

Therefore, we ask that this item be postponed at least one session so the public can understand how the new process will work.

4. Enough Slack to Make the Change

The city staff may argue that the item cannot be postponed, because it’s tied to the $400k SANDAG grant that expires June 13, 2021. There are several reasons why this does not prevent a 2- or 4-week continuance of this item:

• The current executive director of SANDAG has made alternative transportation a priority, and thus wants cities to build projects that promote bicycle use.
• The last schedule task in the contract ends May 3, 2021 — 41 days (almost 6 weeks) before the grant ends. A 2- or 4-week delay is not going to prevent finishing on time
• Oceanside is not the only SANDAG city facing severe economic dislocation, with unexpected public safety costs, widespread layoffs and wide swath of businesses at risk of bankruptcy. If Oceanside needs a one- or two-month contract extension so that this spring it can make more prudent long-term decisions, it seems as though it will not be alone in needing extra time.

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.