Safe Rail Crossings
January 14, 2023
The City of Encinitas has scheduled a neighborhood meeting to discuss At-Grade Crossings in Leucadia
The City of Encinitas has been studying the potential of installing (2) at-grade railroad crossings along the LOSSAN Railroad Track within the Community of Leucadia in order to allow pedestrians and bicyclists to safely and legally cross the railroad tracks. These proposed crossings are located along the railroad corridor between Leucadia Blvd. and La Costa Avenue in the City of Encinitas. A neighborhood meeting to discuss this proposal has been scheduled by the City of Encinitas.
Meeting Details:
MONDAY, JANUARY 30, 2023
6:00 PM – 7:30 PM
THE CITY OF ENCINITAS – POINSETTIA ROOM
505 SOUTH VULCAN AVENU, ENCINITAS, CALIFORNIA 92024
If you are unable to attend or have questions prior to the meeting, please contact Project Manager Matt Widelski by email, by phone at 760-633-2862, or by mail at 505 S. Vulcan Ave, Encinitas, CA, 92024 to provide your input. Additional information about these proposed crossings is available in these documents, which were prepared by the City of Encinitas.
October 22, 2022
NCTD recommends the completion of a quiet zone implementation study for rail corridor
At the September 15, 2022 NCTD board meeting, consent item #23 referenced the completion of a quiet zone implementation study for the rail corridor. NCTD has now issued a staff report recommending the completion of this quiet zone completion study. Additional information can be found in this staff report.
September 26, 2022
City of Encinitas to authorize a grant application for the Verdi Undercrossing project at next City Council Meeting.
This under crossing will connect Cardiff Residents to Coast Hwy and the beach. The grant application is with the Federal Railroad Administration Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program and, if granted, will pay for the remaining $12M for this over $15M project. If granted, the City of Encinitas will pay for the balance of the $15M project, or $3M+. Click here for the City Agenda for this item. Click here to read the City information sheet, dated Dec. 3, 2021.
September 29, 2021
In tonight’s City Council Meeting, Item 8G: tem 8G
"Recommended Action: Authorize the City Manager, in consultation with the City Attorney, to execute the Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) with North County Transit District (“NCTD”), in substantial form as provide in Attachment 1 of the agenda report, to engage in collaboration in the development of safe rail corridor recommendations for the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) consideration.”
Click here for the full report. If this passes tonight, we will be moving forward with the possibility for at-grade crossings in Leucadia and beyond!
June 10, 2021
Following a fatal incident involving a pedestrian along the railroad tracks on June 4 in Leucadia, local safety advocates in the city of Encinitas are once again calling for safe rail crossings along the rail corridor. Click here or the image above for the article in the Coast News.
June 8, 2021
CITY COUNCIL MEETING TOMORROW (JUNE 9) 6:00 PM CIP FUNDING AND ALLOCATIONS: Agenda
IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO WRITE AN EMAIL TO THE CITY COUNCIL!
City Council Meeting @6PM
NOWLeucadia is advocating that both the $250, 000 (Rail Safety Study for “at grade crossing”) AND the $400,000 (North Leucadia Rail “grade separated crossing”) proposed for allocation at the recent CIP strategic planning meetings be combined, preserved and allocated to a specific Tier I fund that explores the feasibility and funds further steps to realize NW Leucadia safe rail crossing (s).
The goal is to have a rail crossing(s) design “shovel-ready” for possible Federal/State grant or other infrastructure monies that may come available. Being in a position to be awarded potential grants or monies outside of the City’s limited funds, would not only be timely, but would decrease the constant pressure on the existing limited fiscal capacity of the monies in the general fund. Furthermore, safe rail crossing(s) in this corridor align perfectly the three of the four strategies drafted in the 2019-21 City’s Strategic Plan,Better incorporate the rail corridor into our neighborhoodsImprove connectivity and mobility for allPromote green Initiative and protect natural resources.
Many great returns for the entire City will be realized with the completion of safe rail crossing(s) in NWLeucadia.ACTION REQUESTED:
If you agree, please e-mail the City Council at council@encinitasca.gov before 3:00 PM on Wednesday June 9 and let them know. (Detailed instructions are below)AGENDA ITEMS 4B: Request that the Council combine the $250,000 designated Rail Safety Study for at grade crossing and the $400,000 (North Leucadia Rail “grade separated crossing”) to be allocated to a Tier I Northwest Leucadia Rail Crossing fund.
April 28, 2021
ACTION NEEDED for upcoming CIP Meeting on May 3rd
Since the last Capital Improvement Program (CIP) meeting did not run through to completion (because there wasn’t enough time to get through all of the issues), the City Council has scheduled the continuation of this meeting for May 3rd @ 1-4 pm. For the last meeting, the city received over 200 emails in support of a shovel ready design for a rail crossing in NW Leucadia and importantly, these emails are now part of the CIP meeting record.
If you are in support of a safe rail crossing for NW Leucadia, please write to the city before the May 3rd meeting. If you previously emailed the city about this issue, please resend your last email to cityclerk@encinitasca.gov and reference the CIP meeting for May 3rd in the subject line. If you did not email the city previously - simply copy and paste the following in your email;
"I am writing to request TIER 1 funding for a feasibility study that evaluates options for a safe rail crossing(s) in N.W. Leucadia AND funding for the design of the rail crossing(s) that results from this feasibility study.”
In order to ensure that your email is included in the meeting record, please send it to the city by May 2nd.
THANK YOU for your engagement!
April 7, 2021
ACTION NEEDED for upcoming CIP Meeting next week
April 14th is the all important CIP (Capital Improvement Project) meeting where the City Council decides on where monies will be allocated for the upcoming year. Last year NOWLeucadia advocated for a safe rail crossing and along with your help we were able to land this idea on a Tier 2 level. This year we would like it to be allocated for a Tier 1, the highest priority for funding for the upcoming year.
As you have probably noticed a lot of work has taken place on Vulcan Ave. and is beginning to be done on the west side of the tracks, the 101 side. It was a surprise to us that the posts for fencing are already being installed for the parking pods on the west side of the tracks. It was our understanding that fencing wouldn’t be installed until all construction for Streetscape was completed south of Leucadia Blvd. However parking was always to be installed along the tracks north of Leucadia Blvd. as part of phase 1 of Streetscape…..so here we are! In our view it is imperative that we get a safe, legal way to cross NOW to the west side of the tracks or we will be fenced out and unable to get to 101 or the beach unless you travel to Leucadia Blvd or La Costa Ave.
Tony Kranz, our Leucadia representative, wrote a blog on his website stating that a new alternative is being considered for safe and legal crossings in N.W. Leucadia. The article addresses the idea of At Grade Crossings, similar to what is currently installed in San Clemente. This is great idea but please note that NOWLeucadia is advocating for ANY form of rail crossing for the safe and legal crossing of pedestrians and cyclists. We feel that the time is now before the major developments that are scheduled to be built in our area are completed. Please read the attached article.
NOWLeucadia needs your help and quite frankly we need it now! If you are in favor of safe and legal crossing/s for Leucadia please take a moment and email the Council before the April 14th Council meeting. Also know that you can speak as well! Instructions for emailing comments or speaking are outlined below:
PUBLIC COMMENT PROCEDURES FOR THIS SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING
The public comments procedure for this Special City Council Meeting is as follows:
PUBLIC COMMENT PRIOR TO THE MEETING: To submit a comment in writing, email cityclerk@encinitasca.gov and include the agenda item number and/or title of the item in the subject line. All e-mail comments received by 3:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting will be emailed to the City Council members and made a part of the official record. Please note, e-mail comments received prior to the meeting will no longer be read at the meeting. If you would like to share your comments during the meeting, please follow the instructions below.
PUBLIC COMMENT DURING THE MEETING (agenda items listed on this agenda): To provide public comment during the meeting, you must register by 4:00 p.m. on the day of the meeting to join the Council Meeting webinar. You do not need to register to watch but must register if you wish to speak. Members of the public will not be shown on video; they will be able to watch and listen, and to speak when called upon.*
* I will send zoom instructions for speaking when the zoom info is available next week.
Your wording in your email can be as simple as the text below:
"I am writing to request funding for a feasibility study that looks at options for a safe rail crossing in N.W. Leucadia AND funding for the design of the rail crossing that results from the feasibility study.”
And of course you can access this news and news of other happenings in our area on our website: nowleucadia.org.
Please feel free to share this email with your friends and neighbors!
And THANK YOU for your help!
April 2, 2021
Tony Kranz & Kellie Shay Hinze issue statement regarding at grade railroad crossings in the Leucadia rail corridor
“With fencing of the rail corridor imminent, the need for safe, legal, and accessible railroad crossings for pedestrians and bikes has become even more urgent ... In an effort to accelerate the process of building safe and legal at-grade pedestrian crossings, a meeting between city and NCTD staff members, representatives from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is being convened to explore the feasibility of at-grade bike and pedestrian crossings between La Costa Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard.”
For more information, read the blog entry posted by Tony Kranz.
November 25, 2020 Update
The North County Transit District (NCTD) board meeting on Nov. 19th, 2020 revealed project highlights for the fencing of the rail in Encinitas.
Here’s what the board said;
- The City of Encinitas and NCTD have agreed to a framework to advance rail trail, pedestrian, roadway and rail improvements on Coast Highway/101 between La Costa Ave. and Encinitas Blvd. (This may mean moving forward with the tunnel and possibly pedestrian bridge at La Costa Blvd. But it will be a VERY SLOW process)
- The City of Encinitas and NCTD have agreed upon a framework that allows implentation of a 4’ post and cable fence along this corridor. (NOT a 6’ chain link fence)
- The schedule for installation will align with the completion of the City’s temporary parking installation along Vulcan Ave. (2021) and Streetscape improvements (2022!). Maybe by then we’ll have a miracle donor or grants in place to help pay for an underground tunnel.
November 20, 2020 Update
THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO SENT AN EMAIL TO NCTD!
Of the 237 emails received by NCTD yesterday, 230 of them were in opposition to the fencing of the rail in Leucadia! (The rest of the emails were regarding Del Mar and believe it or not there was one email in favor of the fencing).
GREAT JOB EVERYONE!
November 17, 2020 Update
RAIL CROSSING ISSUES - Fencing of Railway in Encinitas
Hello fellow Leucadians!
We're reaching out to let you know about—and ask for your help in fighting—the upcoming fencing of the railroad in Encinitas and Leucadia.
The North County Transit District (NCTD) is discussing Amtrak's plans to build a six foot tall, chain link fence (!) around the railroad in Encinitas and Leucadia in their meeting THIS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19th.
Without any other safe rail crossings in Northwest Leucadia, a fencing of the rail would block our community from accessing the beach, businesses on 101, and Leucadia Oaks Park, by foot. Perhaps worse, it will force us into our cars for even short trips—impacting streets that have already grown noticeably busier over the past years (especially Vulcan and La Costa Avenue) and will only get worse with upcoming development.
Here’s how you can help:
Send an email to NCTD: Ask them to stop the fencing by sending a quick note to publiccomment@nctd.org
SHARE THIS EMAIL WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS. Any and all community support is appreciated. You can also share our recent post on Facebook.
And here is more background information:
Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions—and thank you for your help and support!
November 10, 2020
RAIL CROSSING ISSUES - Fencing of Railway in Encinitas
Next Thursday, November 19, at 2:00 pm is the NCTD Board Meeting (Continuing on Dec. 17)
North County Transit District has received a grant to erect fencing in identified areas within the cities of Oceanside, Encinitas and Del Mar that experience high rates of railroad trespassing events. NCTD will seek to coordinate the fencing (4-foot-high post and cable style ) with planned projects in Encinitas
ACTION: Public input is so important!
Email NCTD (publiccomment@nctd.org) asking that the fencing in Encinitas not be completed until a safe crossing has been established in the North Leucadia corridor. Send your email in before 11:00 AM on Thursday!
Comment orally during the meeting. (Click here for NCTD Public Comment pdf for simple procedure on how to get in cue. Click here for Rules for Public Speaker)