A year-old idea to place a midblock crosswalk on the 7600 block of Fay Avenue gained traction at the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board meeting March 19, following the news that the same road is slated for repavement later this year.
The city of San Diego recently scheduled the Fay Avenue repavement between Kline and Pearl streets, a project that will entail the overlay of asphalt concrete pavement, roadway subgrade repairs where needed and the replacement of curb ramps, sidewalk, gutters and restriping.
Construction is expected to begin in October as part of a larger project that includes repaving portions of North Torrey and La Jolla Shores Drive; work is expected to be completed by June 2025.
That Fay Avenue, which scored a “poor” on the city’s road conditions assessment, will be repaved is “an achievement itself,” T&T Chair Brian Earley said.
Fay is “in such bad shape, you just wouldn’t spend the money to put a crosswalk there,” said La Jolla resident Ann Parode Dynes, who has led the effort for a crosswalk since 2023.
The notice of the repavement prompted Earley to alert Dynes, who reignited the idea as a possible tack-on to the repavement.
The crosswalk, which would run midway between Kline and Pearl from near The Lot to The Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center, would “improve the visibility of the Conrad building,” said Dynes, also a board member of the La Jolla Music Society, which runs The Conrad.
“It’s a world-class performing arts facility,” Dynes said.
As such, the rendering of the crosswalk shows decorative painting in the image of a piano keyboard.
The crosswalk would also function as a traffic-calming device, Dynes said, as that portion of Fay has “become a speedway” for cars.
“We believe the crosswalk is important,” LJMS President and Chief Executive Todd Schultz said. “People cross here all the time. Slowing down the cars and having a safe place to cross would be beneficial.”
In correspondence with Alyssa Muto, director of the city’s Sustainability and Mobility Department, Dynes learned the Transportation Department will evaluate the 7600 block of Fay Avenue to see if it meets criteria for a midblock crossing.
The evaluation should be complete by the end of May, Muto indicated in an email to Dynes shared at the T&T meeting.
“However, for safety reasons, the city’s program for decorative crosswalks does not allow for decorative midblock crossings,” Muto wrote.
The crosswalk rendering is only a concept now, Schultz said, noting the location and other details may change as city engineers weigh in.
Dynes will continue to pursue the piano keys image, she said, as clarification is needed on whether decorative painting would still be prohibited if the crosswalk also had upgraded controls like flashing lights and reflective signage, which would be necessary in this location.
Further spurring the recent revisiting of the crosswalk endeavor, Dynes said, is a December 2023 announcement that the U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city with $2.25 million as part of the federal Safe Streets and Roads for All Program, a grant that focuses on improving pedestrian safety.
The current lack of pedestrian safety is also important to the nearby Monarch Cottage, who has indicated its support of the crosswalk proposal “because of their population, which are people over 55 with cognitive disabilities,” Dynes said.
“I would like to think that this committee would support [this idea] when it’s a little more refined,” T&T board member Tom Brady said, encouraging Dynes and Schultz to consider how to address the loss of Village parking should the crosswalk be installed.
The T&T board did not vote on the proposal as it was scheduled as a discussion item only, but member Dave Abrams said Dynes could convey to the city the board’s “general consensus of support.”
“This would become an attraction,” Dynes said. “It would be a distinctive feature of La Jolla.”
Official voting on the item would happen after the city evaluates the road for crosswalk viability, Earley said.
