Thursday, January 31, 2013

Letters to the Editor

Dear Editor: Can anyone address why one section of the median at Balboa and Mt. Abernathy was skipped in the Balboa median project years ago? It is an eyesore and fills with water and breeds mosquitoes with every rainstorm! Thanks, JR

JR, I took your question to Ernie Navarro who is Councilmember Zapf’s representative, and he very kindly sent a pretty detailed account of what’s happening there:

A few years back in 2005 when Councilmember Donna Frye was in office, the Balboa Avenue Revitalization Action Program was adopted on September 12, 2005. During the design phase of the Balboa Avenue Streetscape Project, the Balboa Avenue Citizens’ Advisory Committee, a volunteer group of community residents who advised the City of San Diego on the revitalization of Balboa Avenue, had voted to exclude this median from the improvements . They did so because of concerns they had regarding the location of a new intersection linking the adjacent shopping centers on the north and south sides of Balboa Avenue and did not want to improve a median that may have been modified again in the future. Shortly after the completion of the Balboa Avenue Streetscape Project, however, it was determined that the new intersection was to be constructed further to the west. Therefore, the median was not impacted. The Streetscape Project had already been completed, therefore, the median has remained unimproved. Let’s be clear, Councilmember Lorie Zapf did not ignore or delay the improvements to this median, the BACAC residents chose not to improve this median before Councilmember Zapf was in office.

With that being said, Councilmember Lorie Zapf sent a memo to Mayor Jerry Sanders on April 18, 2012 to move forward with the Balboa Avenue revitalization Action Program Project. The memo asked for key planning elements to be prioritized as engineering work proceeds, such as: Stop Bat Crosswalk Markings, Medians, Bicycle lanes, and Sidewalks. Currently the Bicycle lanes project is moving forward. New street light sensors are being installed on Balboa Avenue from Tierrasanta to Highway 5. The new, improved, and additional bike lanes will be added as well as we move forward. The contract was awarded last November. The median of concern at Balboa Avenue and Mt. Abernathy is in engineering and design phase. The timeline for improvements on this median should be completed by the end of this year. Councilmember Zapf has been monitoring this revitalization closely. As we move forward, we will inform the community.


Dear Editor,
I have enjoyed reading the Clairemont Community News since its inception. Now I have another good reason to appreciate the paper: I found an ad in your classified section under "Odd Jobs." Ed Lecklitner is a local carpenter who responded to my phone call. He was polite, efficient and helpful in all respects, from my first phone call through the completed job. My front door needed replacing and Ed did a wonderful job for me at a reasonable price. He efficiently replaced the old door and hauled it away, too. I was pleased to find him highly reliable and extremely happy to be able to add him to my list of helpful people. I highly recommend Ed's work -- and he's also a good source of information about other solutions to problems.

Thanks to your newspaper I was able to quickly and easily find someone local to help me with my door.

Sincerely,
Trish C. Brown

Trish, I love to hear stories like yours. I hope all my readers get a chance to try out the services of one of our local advertisers…they are the “cream of the crop” in Clairemont!
Clairemont News Editor: Has northwest Clairemont missed the train? I don't consider myself an activist, but occasionally I see an opportunity going to waste and I have to speak up. What I am talking about is spending $1.7 billion to run the trolley from old town to UTC, without a station at Morena and Jutland. The addition of this station would create a new convenient access route from N/W Clairemont to UCSD and the veterans’ hospital. This trolley station would also provide car-free access to the entire trolley system and may reduce the traffic overload on Jutland. Please e-mail the mayor and your councilperson and voice your support for this inexpensive addition to the trolley system. Thank you, Ken Danek

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