The location, which serves as a connector between the La Jolla Nursing and Rehabilitation Center and those who park along the other side of the road, is the current site of a rectangular rapid flashing beacon crosswalk, with signs and a long crossing length accompanied by yellow lights.

In 2022, a car fatally struck a pedestrian at that crossing, two years after the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board approved the installation of a high-intensity activated crosswalk (HAWK) beacon, with a red light and overhead signage similar to one already in use at Torrey Pines Road near Princess Street.

The 2020 T&T action, rehashed during the board’s Dec 19 meeting, resulted from a discussion in which  board members noted a “significant number of complaints/concerns from citizens over past years regarding the safety of crossing the street in this vicinity,” according to last month’s meeting minutes.

The new pedestrian HAWK crossing project will shift the existing crosswalk 35 feet northeast to accommodate the need for new curb ramps and bulb-outs, or portions of the sidewalk that extend further than normal to slow traffic.

The project will also add accessible parking and restripe the affected portion of Torrey Pines. 

Work would start this spring, with an estimated completion in spring 2025 and a cost of $540,000, according to meeting minutes.