The plan to fix the crumbling La Jolla beach access steps needs ‘better solutions,’ volunteers say, including addressing the parking and overlook areas.

A city of San Diego plan to replace the decrepit staircase near 5990 W Camino de la Costa in La Jolla is incomplete and needs to incorporate more than just the crumbling steps, according to a local working group.

The project to repair the beach access staircase, currently in a state of deterioration with cracked, eroded sidewalls and disintegrating concrete steps, has been in the works for years.

The California State Coastal Conservancy funded a $325,000 feasibility study for the project in 2023 and $2 million of state funds is available to reconstruct the staircase.

Without reconstruction, public safety is at risk, according to the report.

Built in 1983, the Camino de la Costa stairway is heavily used by the public and public safety officials. 

The current plan to replace the 50-foot staircase with another concrete stairway does “not yet fully reflect alignment with the state’s funding objectives,” Tim McConnell said Dec at the La Jolla Parks & Beaches meeting.

McConnell, who volunteers for the LJP&B working group on the staircase, said the project also needs to address the parking and overlook areas.

“The overlook area is not ADA accessible,” he said, as it’s uneven, causing people to trip.

The parking area has been the site of near-accidents and cars meeting to perform doughnuts and other illegal activities, McConnell added.

Incorporating the overlook and parking areas in the $2 million project will increase public safety and accessibility, he said.

Constructing the stairs to be entirely concrete is an expensive solution that will only lead to further degradation, McConnell said.

“If you look at the current concrete staircase, it didn’t last 50 years. So why is the new staircase going to last 50 years?”

The city, however, said “‘concrete is the only solution,’” McConnell said.

Nearby staircases along Neptune Place leading to Windansea Beach, however, are wood or hybrid wood-and-concrete, he said, which “work ideally. The benefit of it is it’s innovative, reduces overall stairway costs, improves long term durability, minimizes bluff disturbance, better aligns with coastal aesthetics and meets all required safety and coastal regulations.”

And using more wood and less concrete enables the overlook and parking areas to be completed within the same budget and timeline. 

“It’s driving down the cost of the staircase through innovation and better solutions,” McConnell said.

“We want to strongly support a holistic delivery,” he said, “ensuring all components are constructed and on time within the state’s original budget, fulfilling the full purpose of the grant.”

The working group is currently awaiting a city response.