BikeWalkSolana Meeting (Zoom), June 2, 2025

The meeting of BikeWalkSolana, the Solana Beach Active Transportation Committee, was held on June 2, 2025, 5pm on Zoom. For invitations to future meetings, please email [email protected]

Agenda:

Meeting Notes by Zoom AI / edits by Jill Cooper

In attendance: Karl Rudnick, Jewel Edson, Paul Dickstein, Dan Goldberg, Jill Cooper. Douglas Alden was ill and handed host to Karl after starting the meeting.

Lomas Santa Fe Project Update

City Engineer Dan Goldberg updated us on the Lomas Santa Fe Improvement Corridor Project.  Working closely with CALTRANS, Dan expects final approval to advertise for construction bids soon. The advertising period of about six weeks will be followed by opening bids, City Council review, and potential breaking ground by the end of the year or early next year. Jewel offered to connect Dan with Caltrans District Director Fox to expedite the process, as she has direct access to her through SANDAG  meetings. 

Bike Safety and Infrastructure Discussion

Karl emphasized the importance of proper bike lane design standards, particularly for Class 4 bikeways or protected bike lanes, and noted that Lomas Santa Fe will have widened and buffered bike lanes as well as an effectively Class 1 facility on the north side of LSF.

Encinitas Cycle Track Crash Data, Safety, and Planning

Karl expressed his concerns about hazardous conditions on the Highway 101 cycle track between Solana Beach’s northern border and the Kook statue in Cardiff. He sent a letter to the Vista City Council asking them to reconsider the design of  their similar project. He promised to send a copy of the letter to Dan and Jewel after the meeting – prior to the Vista meeting this letter was also shared with David Zito. Independent, thorough data analysis shows a 50% increase in official crashes on this section of Highway 101 since the installation of the cycle track in 2020. Additionally, there were 21 bicyclist injuries not in the official records recorded by victims and eyewitnesses. These include 7 serious injuries and 1 fatalities. He criticized the City of Encinitas’s incomplete crash data analysis and offered to share a Python tool to COSB if they want for accessing the official CA crash report database. The discussion was prompted by the Vista City Council’s recent vote on a similar design, which resulted in a compromise allowing each Council district to make individual decisions about implementing the track. Karl and Dan discussed the installation of bollards and flex posts on Melrose and Sycamore streets in Vista, noting that while asphalt berms were in place, the bollards had not yet been installed. Karl advocated for alternative safety infrastructure, which could include audible bike lane delineators with much less hazard for cyclists, designed to alert car drivers and bicyclists when they begin to stray from their lanes. He also shared insights on separated bikeways in Minneapolis and California, emphasizing the importance of quality over quick builds. Karl noted that the San Diego Bike Coalition and others are advocating for quick builds which have the risk of a hasty design like Cardiff 101.  He expressed understanding the need to make all riders, including the less experienced, to not only feel comfortable, but be truly safe. 

Cyclovia Street Closure Challenges

Some Solana Beach residents are interested in pursuing a Cyclovia type event in Solana Beach. Jewel shared her past experience advocating for a closed streets event for cyclists and pedestrians. She encountered challenges in planning for street closures, particularly on Cedros Avenue due to engineering limitations, limited parking, and residential constraints. Jewel suggested exploring the possibility of closing the west side of Highway 101 for a Cyclovia event, leaving the east side for north and southbound car traffic.  Jewel agreed to confer with Melissa Fischel who has agreed to pursue a Solana Beach Cyclovia event.

Twenty is Plenty Campaign

Before Douglas Alden left the meeting, he noted that BikeWalkSolana will speak before City Council to seed the idea of embracing a campaign in Solana Beach to slow speeds to improve safety.

Roundabouts: Pros and Challenges

The group discussed roundabouts, with Karl and Paul sharing insights from recent experiences in Encinitas and Carlsbad. They noted that while roundabouts reduce t-bone collisions, they can become DUI traps and increase overall accidents, particularly at night. Funding issues were cited as a reason for delayed roundabout projects in Encinitas. 

Highway 101 and Harbaugh Seaside Trails Safety Discussion

Karl and Dan discussed the speed limit change from 35 to 30 mph along Highway 101 in Encinitas.  Dan mentioned that few people adhere to the new limit.  Enforcement of the new speed limit and designing and building safe infrastructure is important for pedestrians who wish to cross from Seaside Beach to the Harbaugh Seaside Trails area. Jewel highlighted a change in the policies of the current Encinitas City Council, suggesting that they might reverse some previous road design decisions, similar to national trends.

 

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