Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

Petition calls for county to find alternative access for planned park near senior community

A resident of the Rancho Monserate Country Club senior community has begun circulating a petition to call on San Diego County officials to create an alternative access point for a proposed park near the neighborhood.

Cheryle Clinite said she is concerned that the planned Rio Prado Park, which will only be accessible via a road that cuts through Rancho Monserate Country Club, will create dangerous situations for older adults who cross that road to access amenities on the other side.

"We feel access to Rio Prado Park and other projects will make it unsafe on Dulin Road," Clinite said in her petition. "We do not believe that traffic on Dulin Road will observe the reasonable speed limit and will endanger our residents. We believe the added traffic will create unsafe conditions which could lead to injuries/deaths of residents in our mobile home park."

San Diego County officials have planned to develop San Luis Rey River Park along an 8.5-mile stretch of the river from Oceanside to Interstate 15 since 2005. Rio Prado Park – proposed to go in on the south side of the San Luis Rey River along Dulin Road, just west of the Rancho Monserate Country Club – is part of that River Park plan.

Dulin Road is the only way to access Rancho Monserate Country Club, and will also be the only way to access Rio Prado Park. Though the country club is a private community, Dulin Road is a public roadway; the country club does independently maintain the median of the road.

Clinite said she started the petition independently of the country club's homeowners association – although members of the homeowners association have spoken out against the proposed park in the past.

"On any given day along Dulin Road, you will see residents walking their dogs, getting exercise, using walkers along with their home health care providers for recovery of various reasons and using their wheelchairs," Clinite said in her petition. "Our streets in the mobile home park have never had sidewalks. The streets are very narrow and the unique placement of our homes on the hills make it unsafe for many residents to walk, but especially seniors who are unable to navigate steep inclines and declines."

Clinite's petition also calls for including only "passive" activities in the park.

Two proposals for the park, an "active" plan that would include multiple sports fields and a "passive" one that wouldn't include some basketball and tennis courts but no sports fields, were brought before the Fallbrook Community Planning Group back in December 2019; the group's recommendation erred on the passive side, recommending just one baseball and one soccer field.

A survey sent out to residents of surrounding communities in October 2019 showed "a desire for multi-use trails, a community center, a community garden, an equestrian staging area, a dog park, sports fields, picnic areas and a disc golf course," a county official said at the time.

The final concept plan for Rio Prado Park is not yet finished, and it has not yet been determined how many ball fields will be included in the park. Once

a concept plan is drafted, it will have to be approved by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.

Will Fritz can be reached by email at [email protected].

 

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