County aborts plan to extend Fallbrook St.

After 15 months of studying alternative routes to extend Fallbrook Street to the east, representatives from the San Diego County Dept. of Public Works (DPW) announced last week that a decision had been made to abort the project entirely, calling it “unnecessary for the next 15 to 20 years.”

“The road extension is simply not warranted for the next 15 to 20 years, based on the capacity [of traffic] expected; the DPW is going to stop looking into the Fallbrook Street extension project,” said DPW civil engineer Matt Widelski at the May 14 meeting of the Circulation Committee within the Fallbrook Community Planning Group.

Representatives of the DPW met with residents of E. Fallbrook Street during a Fallbrook Community Planning Group Circulation Committee meeting in February of 2012. They heard the concerns many property owners had about the possible route of the proposed extension, along with a suggestion that in lieu of the extension, improvements should be made to Stage Coach Lane and Reche Road to alleviate traffic congestion. Area residents said traffic backup is particularly cumbersome during elementary school drop-off and pick-up times.

At the May 14 meeting, the DPW representatives acknowledged that improving the intersection was a better solution for the short term.

“We think that minor improvements to the intersection of Stage Coach and Reche could be done in order to increase traffic capacity for about five years,” said Widelski. “It would also be a smaller, more affordable project to stay ahead of the problem.”

Unfortunately, later in the discussion, Widelski admitted that given the time it takes to design the intersection improvements and seek the necessary funding for the project, it would most likely be five years before construction on any improvements could begin.

Widelski explained the next step in the process. “The County will start the design process and necessary studies and then bring a proposed plan for the improvement to the Fallbrook planning group for input.”

Talk then evolved into the possibility of widening Stage Coach Lane and Reche Road into four-lane streets.

“Ultimately, four lanes could possibly be needed, but that’s a very preliminary thought,” said Widelski.

Confusion began when an attendee of the meeting asked if the Fallbrook Street Extension project would then be removed from the County’s General Plan.

Terry Rayback, land use and environmental group program manager for capital improvement projects, said it wouldn’t, explaining that it would remain on the General Plan in the event that growth or surrounding change necessitated the project be revisited.

“The County would monitor growth and traffic conditions over the next 15 years,” said Rayback.

Some property owners in attendance said they felt the extension should be completed removed from the General Plan, citing that it can encumber a future sale of their property due to mandated disclosures in real estate transactions.

DPW representatives indicated it would not be removed.