Allison Blackwell
Encinitas City Council – District 1
We are grateful to the candidates who responded. We received responses from Destiny Preston, Allison Blackwell, Tony Kranz, and Jim O’Hara. We did not receive responses from Bruce Ehlers and Luke Shaffer. We will post their responses if they provide them.
Issue #1
Slower speeds reduce injuries and fatalities. Encinitas has been rolling out infrastructure treatments around town, such as roundabouts and speed humps as well as lowering speed limits following the passage of AB43. Other measures for reducing speed include traffic enforcement, stop signs, and traffic calming including lane narrowing, striping, speed tables, chokers, and chicanes.
Do you think reducing speeds should be a city goal?
Yes.
If yes, what do you think are the most effective ways of reducing speeds?
I believe the City’s current approach is sound: (1) implement AB 43 and lower speed limits in designated safety corridors and designated roadways adjacent to facilities generating high concentrations of bicyclists and pedestrians e.g., school zones, and (2) increase enforcement of speed limits throughout the City. We do need to consider increasing our enforcement efforts.
Which streets do you think are in the highest need of reduced speeds?
Safety corridors and roadways adjacent to facilities generating high concentrations of bicyclists and pedestrians e.g., school zones
Issue #2
The El Camino Real corridor south of Santa Fe is constructed essentially as an in-town highway.A high schooler’s recent fatality there indicates how unsafe it is for those not in motor vehicles.
Do you think changes are warranted for this corridor?
Yes.
If yes, what would you propose?
The City Council approved lowering the speed limit on South El Camino Real and that is now in effect. The City Council also approved as part of the FY2024-25 budget a CIP project to install a protected intersection at El Camino Real/Santa Fe Drive and construction should start in 3-6 months. These two changes should improve safety in the corridor, and I’d like the city to continue to monitor safety in the corridor to see if other improvements are needed.
Issue #3
Mixed use developments combining residential and light commercial, such as retail, have the opportunity to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMTs) by making destinations closer to where people live.
Are there any areas in Encinitas in which you support changing zoning in order to facilitate this type of development?
Through recently passed state laws (AB 2011 / SB 6), there are opportunities for mixed use developments know. The city is in process of creating maps of what land would be in scope for both of these laws. In addition, the city may want to look at rezoning of Office Professional-zoned parcels in some cases to allow mixed use development especially if it enables more affordable housing development.
Issue #4
Encinitas’s city code identifies parking minimum mandates for different types of development. Parking mandates eliminate the ability of businesses to right-size their parking allotment, often leading to unnecessarily wasted land and more dispersed facilities that are less conducive to walking and biking. State law prohibits parking mandates within 1/2 mile of a major transit station (in Encinitas, this includes only our downtown transit station), allowing local businesses to determine how to best use their property while increasing the bikeability, walkability, and transit mobility of the area.
Under what conditions and at what other locations would you support the removal of parking minimum mandates?
While I am supportive of shifting from a heavy car culture to a mixed mobility culture (i.e. more pedestrians and cyclists), I need to give this question more study and consideration. My first reaction is that parking minimums may not be necessary in commercial / retail corridors such as El Camino Real. There is good public transportation along this corridor,which could support removal of parking minimum mandates. However, such removal could deter customers from frequenting the corridor for their shopping, adversely affecting the businesses there.
Issue #5
The restaurant street-side eateries (streeteries) add to the vibrancy and people-friendliness of downtown and have been economically beneficial to the restaurants, but have been objected to by some non-restaurant businesses due to loss of street parking. One method that cities have used to manage parking is the implementation of Parking Benefits Districts (PBDs), in which metered-parking rates are set at a price to encourage turnover and parking availability while feeding revenue back into the immediate neighborhood.
What is your opinion about such a program?
I’d like to learn more about the effectiveness of these PBD programs. It sounds like an excellent idea for our Encinitas downtown area because it would help parking availability. It’s a good alternative to adding more parking spaces.
How would you manage parking better in downtown Encinitas to enhance its people-friendliness and vibrancy?
The City Council already has reduced the length of parking downtown and added enforcement through Ace Parking. The city may also want to consider a parking structure that moves parking off of the 101 Coast Highway, which would enable a pedestrian/cyclist safe zonedowntown while ensuring adequate parking.
Issue #6
The El Camino Real Specific Plan calls for converting parking lots to community gathering spaces, pocket parks, greenbelts, and multi-use residential and commercial redevelopment.
What do you like about this plan?
I like that this plan was developed in close collaboration with residents, local businesses, developers, and landowners. I also like that this Specific Plan is intended to reimagine the corridor “through streetscape improvements and high-quality commercial development, while retaining the community character and functionality” (El Camino Real Specific Plan p.1). It also provides objective design standards for residential and mixed-used developments. Ultimately, it allows us to plan for “community charm” on an otherwise charmless corridor.
What do you disagree with?
Nothing at this point in time.
Issue #7
The city has made many infrastructure improvements for bicyclists and pedestrians since incorporation, though bicycling and walking are still challenging for the 8 – 80 group of bicyclists.
For your district (or for the Mayor, the entire city), what is your top mobility infrastructure improvement that you will champion?
For District 1, my top mobility infrastructure improvement is rail crossings in Northwest Leucadia since we have nearly 22 people/hour crossing the tracks in an unsafe manner. I also support the La Costa Ped Path and Vulcan multi-mobility path.
Issue #8
The cycle track along south Coast Hwy 101 from Cardiff to Solana Beach has increased coastal accessibility via bicycle for families and slower riders. However, it has generated a lot of controversy in the road-cycling community and was the site of a recent bicyclist fatality.
Do you believe this facility needs improvement, and if so, how?
There is no question that more people feel comfortable cycling on South Coast Highway 101 now that the cycle track is in place. Previously, it appeared that experienced road-cyclists were the only group that felt comfortable. That being said, I recommend the city evaluate the effectiveness of the cycle track after a reasonable period of time e.g., 1-2 years and gather public input as part of that process.
Issue #9
Encinitas will vote on whether to add a 1% sales tax to help fund the infrastructure improvement projects identified by the Infrastructure Task Force, many of which will enhance mobility around town.
If the tax doesn’t pass, how will you fund these projects?
It will be very difficult to fund the projects prioritized by the Infrastructure Task Force in any meaningful way. The City Council will need to further prioritize that list each year and decide what to fund. It will mean many less projects each year. Some feel we can find more money within the existing budget, but that will involve trade-offs (e.g., pausing some projects, investing less in public safety (the biggest portion of the budget) etc.). Some feel we should go after more grants and would be more successful with specialized grant writers. I agree that this idea is worth exploring.