DEL MAR, Calif. — After lengthy negotiations failed to reach a resolution, the San Diego-area North County Transit District is preparing to move ahead with plans for safety fencing along its railroad right-of-way at the Del Mar Bluffs.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reports the district informed Del Mar officials the fencing would be on the agenda for its Jan. 20 board of directors meeting, and that the options could include a return to the original plan for a 6-foot chain link fence, instead of a lower-profile, less obtrusive design that had been discussed with the city.
Board president Tony Kranz also said in a letter to the Del Mar officials that the board has asked the Surface Transportation Board for “expedited consideration” of its petition to gain sole authority over the fencing and land-stabilization plans for the bluffs. That petition, initially filed in August 2020, has been held in abeyance while the district negotiated with the city and the California Coastal Commission [see “North County Transit District asks STB to delay action …,” Trains News Wire, Nov. 7, 2020].
Eight people have been killed walking on the railroad right-of-way between 2014 and 2020, but city officials and residents have opposed the fencing because they say it will limit their access to the bluffs and adjacent beaches, and also harm views from houses along the tracks. At one point, the Union-Tribune reported the NCTD, city, and coastal commission had agreed to reduce the fence to 4 feet high, use a post-and-cable design instead of the chain link, and cut the length from 12,960 feet to 5,698 feet [see “North County Transit District reaches new agreement …,” News Wire, July 23, 2021].
But Del Mar did not meet a Dec. 31 deadline to agree to those changes, leading to the current NCTD plan to move ahead. Del Mar Mayor Dwight Worden told the newspaper in an email that the city is preparing a response to the NCTD letter and will discuss the fence and related litigation at a meeting today.
The route along the Pacific Coast, owned by the transit district, is used by Coaster commuter trains, Amtrak’s Pacific Surfliner, and BNSF freight traffic.
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