The city of Encinitas recently completed a pedestrian crossing on El Camino Real between two shopping centers just north of Encinitas Boulevard.
The Z-style crossing, which stretches between Encinitas Village shopping center to the east and Encinitas Marketplace to the west, was placed across a median where pedestrians frequently jaywalked to get to North County Transit District bus stops in the area.
Work on the project, which was approved in June 2022, started last September and was completed in mid-March. The city received a $517,600 Caltrans Local Highway Safety Improvement Program grant for design and construction.
The crossing includes a stoplight that remains green until a pedestrian presses a button to allow for safe crossing, according to a city project update. A blinking yellow arrow marks where vehicles make left turns into the shopping centers.
“The Z-Crossing is connected to the Via Molena traffic signal to allow the pedestrian walk phases of the Z-Crossing to be served in tandem with traffic on the Via Molena side streets,” city officials explained in the update. “The pedestrian signal timing is synchronized with adjacent traffic signals along El Camino Real to minimize delays along the corridor.”
Residents shared a mix of praise and criticism upon the announcement of the project’s completion on social media.
“Since this has gone, live, I have seen several people still running across the street, but not using the new light. Have not seen one person using it,” resident Debbie Lewis Maldonado responded on the city’s public Facebook page. “For me, I think it’s a distraction in the area for drivers now with too many lights, some flashing, in such a small block.”
Others praised the city for working to make the stretch of El Camino Real safer for pedestrians and cyclists.
“We need more pedestrian Z crossings across our community,” resident Kristine Schindler posted on the city’s Facebook page.
The need for a crossing along that portion of El Camino Real was first identified during a community audit in 2017, according to the city.
