Albertsons corner placed
on county’s signal priority list

By Joe Naiman
The Alpine Sun

     ALPINE — The San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 Feb. 27 to place the intersection of Alpine Boulevard and South Grade Road/East Victoria Drive, the corner of the new Alpine Albertsons, on the county’s Traffic Signal Priority List.
     The intersection was given 29 priority points by the county’s Traffic Advisory Committee when the TAC recommended during its Dec. 14 meeting to place the intersection on the signal priority list. That places the Alpine intersection second on the priority list, behind a Rancho Santa Fe intersection, and funding for signalization of both intersection is expected to be part of the county’s 2008-09 budget.
     Priority points are given for factors such as traffic volume of the major and minor legs, operational improvement potential, and accident reduction potential. Between July 30, 2002, and July 30, 2007 the intersection had 15 reported collisions, eight of which involved injury. The Traffic Advisory Committee decided that the present stop control at the intersection was no longer suitable for the situation.
     An October 2007 traffic survey produced an average daily traffic volume of 5,850 eastbound vehicles on Alpine Boulevard west of South Grade and East Victoria, 2,630 westbound vehicles on Alpine Boulevard east of South Grade and East Victoria, 2,680 northbound vehicles on South Grade south of Alpine Boulevard, and 770 southbound vehicles on East Victoria north of Alpine Boulevard.
     A May 2001 traffic survey at those locations saw an average of 3,670 eastbound, 3,100 westbound, 1,700 northbound, and 690 southbound vehicles.
     With the addition of Albertsons, traffic in this area has increased. A traffic signal will ease trouble for drivers leaving the new supermarket parking lot as they turn west heading back into of Alpine.

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