Options for local road improvements include closing off Alpine Boulevard

By Christy Scott
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — A one-way loop or a truncated Alpine Boulevard are among the many ideas that are being discussed by Alpine residents and county staff as the GP 2020 road networking process moves along. Many options are being reviewed to help ease traffic and aide connectivity in town.
Current county studies in the Alpine area pinpoint specific problem areas for traffic flow. Staff and residents are trying to come up with several options that can then be run through a traffic model study to see what would be the best plan for Alpine.
     “We’re trying to find possible ways of dealing with the problem,” said county GP 2020 planner Bob Citrano. “What we want to do is end up with a few possible solutions for these problems areas, then we’ll run all of them through a traffic model and find the best one.”
     In communities all around San Diego County, planners are gathering information and input from residents and workshops are being held to allow the public a chance to weigh in. The Alpine area workshop is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 18 at 5 p.m. at the community center.
     At an Alpine Planning Group Circulation Sub-committee meeting held Monday night, residents and committee members delved further into the traffic problems faced and possible solutions.
     “We’re really early in this whole process,” said sub-committee chair Scott Lamb. “The public is going to have a bunch of opportunities to take part in this process. We want to be completely thorough.”
     The workshop in August will result in a final set of possible solutions. Each solution will then be run through a computer traffic model to test its functionality and feasibility. 
     “We want the details of a community,” Citrano said, “any sort of specifics that we can get from the residents themselves.”
     “We do certain things to tweak the model,” Citrano said. “We want to get it as accurate as possible to get the most reliable and realistic answers.”
     After county studies, nine traffic problem areas were identified in Alpine. These are areas that were determined to be level of service ‘E’ and ‘F’, where there are significant breakdowns in traffic flow and any incidents cause major slowdowns.
     Listed here are the problem areas and possible solutions at this point provided by county staff and sub-committee meeting input.

Problem areas and improvement options:
     Alpine Boulevard — I-8/Dunbar Lane interchange to Harbison Canyon. This road is currently two lanes wide with turn lanes and is operating at level of service ‘E.’ The first options is to build out this Alpine Boulevard segment to its actual current designation, a major four lane road with a median. A second option discussed is also to build a north/south extension from Bridal Run/Bullard Lane to Alpine Boulevard.
     Alpine Boulevard — Tavern Road to South Grade. This road is currently two lanes with turn lanes but is designated as a four-lane collector. One option would be to build out to the current designation. Another options would be a variation on the much disputed East/West road connector discussed in recent months; downgrade to three-lane classification and extend Marshall Way west to Tavern Road.
     One interesting idea is to create an Alpine Boulevard/Arnold Way one-way couplet. Traffic would flow east up Arnold Way and west down Alpine Boulevard with a few new north/south connectors in between. Another option concocted during the subcommittee meeting is to leave two-way traffic along both roads, but to abandon Alpine Boulevard between the five-way stop and the first of the north/south connectors, somewhere near Alpine Mercantile, where the two roads would merge. The area where Alpine Boulevard passes now would be turned into a walkable town green area, which has been discussed in revitalization plans.
     North Tavern Road — segment north of I-8. Currently a two-lane road that operates at level of service ‘F’. The number of daily trips estimated at that spot actually call for a six-lane classification, however, the meeting participants shot down this idea. One option is to upgrade the road to three lanes and add new roadway connections to ease traffic from that spot. This could mean an extension of Tavern to Peutz Valley road or other new roads in the area. The most popular option was a simple upgrade of the interchange.
     One very popular idea that would ease traffic along Alpine Boulevard as well as congestion at the Tavern Road/I-8 interchange would be the addition of a new off-ramp at Victoria Drive. This idea has been discussed over the past few months and Lamb has been working to get funding and support for the project.
     “I am dedicated to this off-ramp,” said Lamb. “I see this as a completely vital issue for dealing with traffic in Alpine and I’m pushing hard for it.”
     According to Lamb, the project has been stalled due to funding issues. In order to get funding for the project, the road must be designated as a regional arterial and must be put into the regional transportation plan. A value analysis must be completed to achieve this.
     Originally, Lamb had recruited a Duncan Hunter aide to help get funding for the project. Now, Lamb says, he is hoping Hunter’s office will be able to help raise the $100,000 to $150,000 needed to conduct the study.
     Willows Road – I-8 to Viejas Grade Road. This road is currently two lanes with intermittent turn lanes; however, it is classified as a four-lane collector. 
     One option may be to build out to the current classification, however steep terrain and private property will no doubt be problematic.
     Another option brought up during the sub-committee meeting was to eliminate Willows to Viejas Grade as a connector and force casino traffic to the East Willows exit.

                                            E-mail Christy Scott