[SDCBC] Camino Del Norte

[trevorspoke at cox.net]

> Somewhere along the line, Camino Del Norte morphed from a freeway to an
> expressway to an arterial. 
> 
>  
> 
> Unfortunately, pieces of Camino Del Norte were built at different times, by
> different agencies, with different standards. Hence the difference between
> the cross section and interchange at Camino San Bernardo
> (freeway/expressway) versus the one at Pomerado Road (arterial). 
> 
>  
> 
> Most of Camino Del Norte has retained its expressway/high speed character.
> Intersections are usually at least ½ mile apart, and signal controlled or
> grade separated (or both). There are no businesses or homes for which Camino
> Del Norte is their front yard. It is separated from all the land development
> by sound walls, landscaping, and other barriers. Camino Del Norte is not
> part of anyone’s community, but it rather simply a funnel for cars to get
> through and around the surrounding communities. 
> 
>  
> 
> In Poway, Camino Del Norte becomes Twin Peaks, and on that part of the road
> they’ve included a trail on either side. It might have been a good idea to
> do that on the western sections of Camino Del Norte as well, or to have
> reconsidered the land development to have made Camino Del Norte a main
> street rather than an expressway, but the chance has come and gone, and it
> is what it is.  
> 
>  
> 
> We now say a requiem for an opportunity lost, and hope to learn for the
> future.

The glass is half empty for Kathy, but for me I can choose to be happy that SR163 now isn't the only useful transportation corridor that challenges conventional wisdom about bike-car traffic interactions. What will we do to remind motorists that they aren't really on a freeway, that people might be using the same highway who need the same standard of care as on other surface streets.

Here's one idea: transverse rumble strips every half mile, which make it annoying to drive too fast.

Here's another: 25cent refunds for every halfway mark between rumble strips where motorist speed is under the posted speed recommendation for the conditions.

Here's another: speed limit signs that change based on a combination of the recent and predicted volume and type of traffic, including people outside of protective metal cages.

Once we have creative solutions for these mostly-expressway roads, perhaps we can adapt them to other more local problem sites (freeway-style interchanges we all know about through the county).

-- Trevor