By Ross Ridder for the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Town Council
Recently the City of Encinitas completed mobility improvements at the San Elijo/Manchester intersection in Cardiff giving residents and visitors safer pedestrian access between the Cardiff residential & business areas and our beautiful San Elijo Lagoon.
While we had incredible new infrastructure recently built from the I-5 /Manchester intersection to the lagoon, the pedestrian access between the Cardiff core to the lagoon through the San Elijo/Manchester intersection was extremely dangerous.
A sidewalk ended shortly before the intersection and there were no crosswalks to get to the lagoon. Walkers & runners often crossed at unusual places, confusing motorists and endangering pedestrians.
On the lagoon side, pedestrians often had to step into the street to get around non-indigenous acacia trees growing on the bank. The Nature Collective wanted to remove them from the lagoon ecosystem. These trees also blocked a stunning view of our beautiful lagoon.
Doug Gibson, Nature Collective Executive Director and Ross Ridder, Parks & Recreation Commissioner.
Gathering a strong coalition, including the Nature Collective, Cardiff 101 Main Street, Cardiff Town Council, Encinitas Parks & Recreation Commission, and EncinitasBikeWalk, we made our case for mobility improvements at a Mobility & Traffic Safety Commission meeting in March of last year.
The commission and city staff supported our recommendations and included the improvements in the city mobility budget that was approved by the City Council as a Quick Build.
Throughout the process, city staff worked very closely with the Nature Collective to be sure all improvements were environmentally sensitive.
Here’s the new view of the lagoon from Manchester. The crosswalks have been installed and the sidewalk has been completed to the crosswalk…and look at those wide -open views!
Local neighbors, pedestrians, and motorists all can enjoy these enhanced views of our lagoon and the ocean beyond.
Pedestrians can now safely navigate the intersection using the crosswalks…
And walk down the decomposed granite footpath to the lagoon trailhead.
The city decided to add a guard rail to the plan for added safety. Because no curb was installed, bicyclists can navigate this area with a little extra room too.
No parking signs were installed along the new decomposed granite trail to the lagoon trailhead to maintain pedestrian access.
Looking to the future, the Nature Collective will be developing a native plant landscape design and replanting the lagoon slope with smaller, indigenous species.
Thank you to all the people from the various organizations who made this mobility improvement possible…and thank you to the City Council for providing funding for this important community enhancement.
Written by & Photo Credits by:
Ross Ridder for the Cardiff-by-the-Sea Town Council
