A motion to approve a crosswalk and stop sign on Via Capri at Via Siena was voted down at the April 10 La Jolla Shores Association meeting. 

The crosswalk and stop sign at the Via Capri/Via Siena intersection is necessary to improve pedestrian safety, according to residents Remi Raphael and Sven Zabka.

There are “too many safety incidents on Via Capri,” Raphael said, showing several photos of emergency vehicles responding to accidents, which have occurred as recently as six days ago and include cars running into houses, multi-vehicle accidents and more.

As pedestrians use Via Capri to go up to Mount Soledad Memorial Park, safety is of critical concern, Raphael said, as there is no crosswalk along Via Capri and no access to the Hillside Walking Trail.

Crossing Via Capri on any point, with its numerous turns, is very difficult, he said. “It’s dodging the traffic and holding your life in your hand.”

The stop sign is needed in conjunction with the crosswalk to slow the traffic speeding down the steeply-graded Via Capri, Raphael added, along with “prepare to stop” signage, not only for pedestrians but also so cars can turn safely from Via Siena onto Via Capri.

The idea has garnered community support, Raphael said, in the form of 36 signatures collected from homeowners on Via Capri and Via Siena and an online petition with an additional 100-plus signatures from La Jolla residents.

The LJSA board, however, wasn’t as agreeable. 

Nearby stop signs on Hidden Valley Road “aren’t effective,” board member Karen Marshall said. “Nobody stops.”

“I really oppose this,” LJSA board member (and Via Capri resident) Russ Rudolph said. “I’ve probably driven up and down this road thousands of times.”

Emphasizing there are no sidewalks along Via Capri, “a crosswalk would be very inappropriate,” he said.

Zabka replied as many pedestrians use Via Capri without sidewalks anyway, a crosswalk and stop sign are still necessary.

Rudolph noted a similar proposal to install a stop sign at this location was withdrawn from presentation at a past meeting of the La Jolla Traffic & Transportation Board.

As Via Capri is an emergency access route for the city of San Diego, speed bumps and stop signs are not recommended, said LJSA member and T&T Chairman Brian Earley.

The T&T board did endorse a narrowing of Via Capri’s traffic lanes to slow speeds and a city engineering traffic study showed the road failed to meet criteria for a stop sign. 

Zabka, who originally presented the need for slowing Via Capri speed to T&T, said the stop sign is no longer proposed for traffic calming but for pedestrian safety.

The proposal for the crosswalk and stop sign lost in a 4-7 vote; three abstained, citing a need for more information from the city.