With more people and greater fire anger, some residents advocate for the gate’s removal.
A proposal to improve access to the Country Club neighborhood by permanently opening the gates on Upper Hillside Drive between Encelia Drive and Caminito Bassano came before the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board Dec 17, with T&T Chair Erik Gantzel agreeing to look into the matter.
Resident Tom Fetter moved to his home on Country Club Drive 62 years ago, he said, when “there weren’t so many people there.”
Fetter has unsuccessfully asked a few times over the years about opening the gates, championed and installed by previous residents of the neighborhood and accessible by the fire department, bicyclists and pedestrians.
After recently learning the nearby Foxhill property will be redeveloped into five separate homes, Fetter reignited the issue.
“The concern I have is that there are roughly … 600 people that are spending the night in that area,” he said.
With larger homes being built on old, narrow roads, opening the gates would improve access for all, Fetter said.
Not only would vehicles have an easier time accessing the neighborhood, but there would also be an escape route, Fetter said, noting the abundance of natural reserve space in the area.
Some T&T board members agreed, but did not vote as the item was listed as discussion only.
“As things dry out and get hotter, the La Jolla Natural Park is a fire waiting to happen,” board member Ross Rudolph said. “Opening this up is a great idea, because if there’s a massive fire in that area, all these people are going to get trapped.”
“It’s an excellent suggestion from a safety standpoint,” said board member Tom Brady. “We need to have that gate removed.”
Board member Mike McCormick, however, expressed concern that the current, “wonderful connection” the gates create for bikers and pedestrians, if open to vehicles, would “change the circulation pattern for people that don’t live in the neighborhood” in terms of more cars coming through to use the road.”
“Unfortunately, opening the gate would increase vehicular traffic on Country Club [Drive],” said La Jollan Kathleen Neil, who does not live in that neighborhood, but walks it frequently. “There is not … any way to create a sidewalk on that road.”
The benefits outweigh the negatives for Fetter, who referenced a neighbor who wants the gates to remain closed. “People have planned for their privacy and not planned for the passage of other people.”
T&T will look into whether the gates are on private or public property, Gantzel said.
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