Equine Community Gets Requested Barrier in San Vicente Road Improvement Project

After hearing concerns from the equine community in Ramona over a visual barrier on the proposed improvement of San Vicente Road, the county said it's found a solution to the issue.

Steve Ron, county Department of Public Works project manager for the San Vicente Road Improvement project, said the updated road improvement project includes two travel lanes with a bike lane on either side.

According to the project manager, the north (or east) side will have a parkway for pedestrians and the south, (or west) side will be a multi-use pathway for pedestrians or equestrians.

“We’ve added a landscape barrier between the bike lane and pathway," Ron told the Ramona Community Planning Group. "It’s not going to stop a car, but the equestrian community said if there is a visual barrier there, the horse will know that something is on the other side."

At a July 2012 RCPG meeting, Ramona resident Kathy DaSilva suggested a visual barrier of some kind on the multi-use path.

"We need something that's a visual deterrent," DaSilva said, suggesting shrubs. "We can't have a kid on a bike riding next to a speeding car."

Ron said he wanted the local planning group to know that the county has "been working with the equestrian community."

RCPG member Torry Brean voiced concern at the April 4 meeting in the Ramona Library over irrigation on the trail barrier.

"We’ll probably need at least temporary irrigation... but once it’s established, we’d pick the right plants to survive without irrigation," Rayback said, noting the county will maintain the plants.

Other updates brought forth by the county included working under a tight timeline—18 months scheduled to begin this fall.

“We know it’s going to be an inconvenience to the residents, but we’re tying to do all we can to minimize it,” said Terry Rayback, who works for the Department Public Works.

According to Rayback, there will no no contruction during the 18 months from 5-8 a.m., which the county has determined as rush hour in town.

"Nine to 3:30 are normal county hours, but they might be re-worked," Rayback said of the work hours. "Sixteen thousand cars will be affected each day."

The DPW program manager said residents won't be delayed during the project for more than 15 minutes, and never during rush hour.

Read more: Ramona Planning Group Expresses Concern over San Vicente Road Project

Members of the planning group voiced concern last July over left-hand turn lanes on the soon-t-be-widened road. Rayback said the current turn lane at Warnock will remain as is, Barnett will have a turn lane for both directions and Wildcat Canyon Road will have a dedicated right turn lane.

Group chair Jim Piva was concerned about no left turn lane being planned at Gem Lane, an area he said sees lots of turn-ins.

Eb Hogervorst agreed.

"There’s ten times more traffic going into Gem Lane than into (Barnett Ranch)," he said.

Board member Carl Hickman said he'd like to see double yellow lines with rumble strips in between the new lanes. As of now, there is one foot of space in between the proposed lanes with one yellow line.

“Speed is going to come up even though the curves come out. The double yellow lines give a little bit of a buffer," Hickman pleaded with Rayback. "This is one of my big concerns. I see a project that doesn’t match your design."

Hickman said he'd like to see a minimum 3-foot separation in between the lanes.

"We’ve tried to keep the road as narrow as possible—it helps with community character and helps with not taking out as many trees," Rayback responded.

According to the county 150 oak trees will be removed. Rayback said the oaks are not an endangered species and the county is currently looking for special programs to help relocate the plants.

"We’ll be putting into preservation some of the trees in Barnett Ranch and throughout the county," Rayback said. "We’re still trying... to provide saplings that we would make available for Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts to plant in mitigation areas or around town.

“We’re very aware of the community’s interest in the loss of trees.”

Other notable updates:

• Residents can call a hotline number—1-877-291-6565— for basic info and questions during the construction. The phone will be manned constantly, according to the county.
• The improvement project is going to fund standby emergency response equipment to reduce the use of transporting resources through the contruction area.
• On Red Flag Days, there will be no construction to help minimize possible evacation conflicts.

Despite the concerns by some members, others voiced content with where the project is headed.

"It’s great to see this moving forward," Brean said.

Approximately 16 curves will be smoothed and straightened with the San Vicente Road Project, resulting in just six curves alone the 2.25 mile stretch of the road from Warnock Drive to Wildcat Canyon Road.

"You’ll gain sight vision which helps gain reaction," Ron said.

If all goes as planned, Rayback said the road improvement would be complete by spring of 2015. Ramona Municipal Water District will be moving a water line during the reconstruction.