Coast highway south from Del Mar Heights Road to Carmel Valley road is closed to all traffic, at least it was today. Heard the repair to the pipe under the road may take a month or more. North bound is open. Ah, Torrey, we will miss you.
Fortunately, the only ride this month planned for that stretch is the Sunday, Jan 24 La Jolla Shores ride, which I will reroute if the road remains closed. Here is a note to bike commuter Douglas Alden from the City of Del Mar. Douglas needs that route open for his commute, but there is little choice for now.
QuoteThank you for sharing your concern, Mr. Alden.
We are aware that this area is well-traversed by bicyclists.
For right now, there is only one northbound lane available in this section. It is a relatively narrow area in general, between the slope on the eastside and the cliff on the west side, and most of this area is currently a construction zone.
We are looking at long-term options during construction with our Traffic Engineer for how to reopen the lanes for bicyclists as soon as possible.
For now, any assistance you can provide in spreading the word to cyclists that there are no southbound bike lanes would be appreciated.
Thank you!
Kristen Crane
Kristen M. Crane | Management Services Director
City of Del Mar | City Manager’s Office
1050 Camino del Mar
Del Mar, CA 92014
D 858.755.9313 ext. 1132 | F 858.755.2794 | kcrane@delmar.ca.us
City of Del Mar announced traffic will be allowed south on the coast highway. The northbpund lanes will be converted to one lane north and one way south with a reduced speed limit. Bicycles are allowed to go south and take the whole lane. The northbound bike lane will essentially remain. Be safe out there.
I'll also add that the SD County Bike Coalition has also recommended that Bikes May Use Full Lane (BMUFL) signs be used for the temporary signage southbound while the repairs are in progress. The BMUFL signs are regulatory, meaning that section 21202 of the Ca Vehicle Code makes this a legal position for cyclists. We don't want them to use the orange Share the Road signs as they are not only often misunderstood, but they are only a warning - no part of the vehicle code applies (other than the 3 ft law). Motorists think that Share the Road means "side-by-side sharing" whereas these signs are typically placed in lanes that are so narrow that sharing can only be done front-to-back. Since you require about 4 ft of safe operating space, add in the 3 ft law and 7ft average vehicle width, any lane less than about 14 ft wide is then too narrow to share side-by-side. That's true for about 95% of the lanes we typically ride throughout SD County. If you don't know this, please consider taking the Smart Cycling (aka Traffic Skills 101) class offered monthly in Oceanside - that is the primary theme if you're already an experienced cyclist. Know both what is legal and what is the safest way to ride, PLEASE.
Karl