Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

“The diesel death zone is a thousand feet”

CalTrans finalizes environmental report for I-5 - 56 project

I-5 and 56. CalTrans says the project won’t be started until 2035.
I-5 and 56. CalTrans says the project won’t be started until 2035.

A group of residents have begun organizing a fight against a proposed‘fly-over freeway ramp from westbound state route 56 to the northbound Interstate 5, a ramp they fear will bring noise, soot and cut-through traffic to the Torrey Pines and Carmel Valley neighborhood.

The proposed ramp will bring traffic closer to homes on Portofino Circle and may trigger the need for sound walls.

It’s easy to dismiss their concerns when CalTrans says the project won’t be started until 2035. But the 1,000-page environmental impact statement and report has been completed and their opportunity to comment ended in 2012.

“We spent five years meeting with them and going over the details and we thought they were listening when Torrey Pines and Carmel Valley told them what we wanted, “ said Dennis Ridz, of the Torrey Pines Planning Group. “Now they’re refusing to come to the community and meet with us.”

Fortunately for the residents, they have time to organize. Or do they?

Sponsored
Sponsored

“The project is not funded,” says CalTrans planner Arturo Jacobo. “It won’t be constructed before 2035 on our current planning timeline.”

Despite the project being 18 years away, CalTrans has finalized the environmental impact report, he says. What’s in the EIR has members of Carmel Valley and Torrey Pines planning groups angry.

The 1,000-page draft contains at least 80 changes in the plan from what residents say they were led to expect, Dee Rich said. The plan includes widening east and westbound SR 56 and north and southbound I-5. Now, the eastbound 56 sees about 41,000 cars a day, and planners estimate that it will increase to between 71,000 and 79,000 cars per day.

“They’re very major changes and they’ve never been presented to the public,” she said. Carmel Valley residents apparently didn’t see them either.

“The Carmel Valley Planning Group had the same reaction we did — they were shocked by the changes, especially since no one told us that things we worked on for five years were going to be changed,” Ridz explained. “I think the only way we can represent the community is to let the community ask questions and get straight answers at a public meeting.”

The series of meetings, beginning in 2008, started with 17 alternative plans. The alternatives were eventually whittled down to five, all agree. The planning groups submitted a 70-page report of their concerns with each of the five choices in 2012.

They say what ended up in the final environmental impact report is different from the five options they studied. So they called for CalTrans to come out and meet with the groups in September, and CalTrans refused, instead offering to meet at CalTrans offices in Old Town.

“We can even get questions to them in advance,” Ridz said.

Jacobo said that he and his colleagues had met with the planning groups dozens of times, starting in 2010. As time went on, the meetings became ‘unproductive,’ he said.

“We welcome the residents to come and meet with us,” he said. “I did say in writing we are available for a meeting but we want it to be a constructive meeting,” he said. “If they have environmental questions, I can have our experts here, if they have engineering questions, our engineers are here.”

On the west side of the I-5, planning group members say the plan will have the most impact on residents on Portofino Circle, just north of the 56.

There, CalTrans plans to build an offramp for southbound I5 that starts farther north than the existing ramp and is both longer and wider. The proposed ramp will bring traffic closer to homes on Portofino Circle and may trigger the need for sound walls.

“The diesel death zone is a thousand feet,” Ridz said, referring to the growing body of evidence that people who live or work near freeways have higher rates of asthma — sadly demonstrated in Barrio Logan and San Ysidro. “They’re putting the ramp behind a school with no mention of the kids’ health.”

Where to go from here no one knows

“We’re not trying to kill the project, there are impacts that CalTrans needs to recognize and consider,” Ridz said.

For Jacobo, a certain project fatigue has set in.

“We’ve been heavily involved with the community and we’ve had more meetings than are required,” he said. “I understand what it’s like to live in a community and worry about something like this. It’s a balancing act and we do our best, but some people are going to be unhappy.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
Next Article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment
I-5 and 56. CalTrans says the project won’t be started until 2035.
I-5 and 56. CalTrans says the project won’t be started until 2035.

A group of residents have begun organizing a fight against a proposed‘fly-over freeway ramp from westbound state route 56 to the northbound Interstate 5, a ramp they fear will bring noise, soot and cut-through traffic to the Torrey Pines and Carmel Valley neighborhood.

The proposed ramp will bring traffic closer to homes on Portofino Circle and may trigger the need for sound walls.

It’s easy to dismiss their concerns when CalTrans says the project won’t be started until 2035. But the 1,000-page environmental impact statement and report has been completed and their opportunity to comment ended in 2012.

“We spent five years meeting with them and going over the details and we thought they were listening when Torrey Pines and Carmel Valley told them what we wanted, “ said Dennis Ridz, of the Torrey Pines Planning Group. “Now they’re refusing to come to the community and meet with us.”

Fortunately for the residents, they have time to organize. Or do they?

Sponsored
Sponsored

“The project is not funded,” says CalTrans planner Arturo Jacobo. “It won’t be constructed before 2035 on our current planning timeline.”

Despite the project being 18 years away, CalTrans has finalized the environmental impact report, he says. What’s in the EIR has members of Carmel Valley and Torrey Pines planning groups angry.

The 1,000-page draft contains at least 80 changes in the plan from what residents say they were led to expect, Dee Rich said. The plan includes widening east and westbound SR 56 and north and southbound I-5. Now, the eastbound 56 sees about 41,000 cars a day, and planners estimate that it will increase to between 71,000 and 79,000 cars per day.

“They’re very major changes and they’ve never been presented to the public,” she said. Carmel Valley residents apparently didn’t see them either.

“The Carmel Valley Planning Group had the same reaction we did — they were shocked by the changes, especially since no one told us that things we worked on for five years were going to be changed,” Ridz explained. “I think the only way we can represent the community is to let the community ask questions and get straight answers at a public meeting.”

The series of meetings, beginning in 2008, started with 17 alternative plans. The alternatives were eventually whittled down to five, all agree. The planning groups submitted a 70-page report of their concerns with each of the five choices in 2012.

They say what ended up in the final environmental impact report is different from the five options they studied. So they called for CalTrans to come out and meet with the groups in September, and CalTrans refused, instead offering to meet at CalTrans offices in Old Town.

“We can even get questions to them in advance,” Ridz said.

Jacobo said that he and his colleagues had met with the planning groups dozens of times, starting in 2010. As time went on, the meetings became ‘unproductive,’ he said.

“We welcome the residents to come and meet with us,” he said. “I did say in writing we are available for a meeting but we want it to be a constructive meeting,” he said. “If they have environmental questions, I can have our experts here, if they have engineering questions, our engineers are here.”

On the west side of the I-5, planning group members say the plan will have the most impact on residents on Portofino Circle, just north of the 56.

There, CalTrans plans to build an offramp for southbound I5 that starts farther north than the existing ramp and is both longer and wider. The proposed ramp will bring traffic closer to homes on Portofino Circle and may trigger the need for sound walls.

“The diesel death zone is a thousand feet,” Ridz said, referring to the growing body of evidence that people who live or work near freeways have higher rates of asthma — sadly demonstrated in Barrio Logan and San Ysidro. “They’re putting the ramp behind a school with no mention of the kids’ health.”

Where to go from here no one knows

“We’re not trying to kill the project, there are impacts that CalTrans needs to recognize and consider,” Ridz said.

For Jacobo, a certain project fatigue has set in.

“We’ve been heavily involved with the community and we’ve had more meetings than are required,” he said. “I understand what it’s like to live in a community and worry about something like this. It’s a balancing act and we do our best, but some people are going to be unhappy.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Seals hook up with Beaver

Salty’s Escape is a Mexican-Style cerveza brewed with corn and puffed Jasmine rice
Next Article

OSHA rules wall falls our fault

Who, U.S.?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.