City traffic engineer makes recommendation on road use at Del Mar Mesa planning board meeting

City traffic engineer George Ghossain discussed at the Sept. 8 Del Mar Mesa Community Planning meeting a study to assess the practicality of extending Little McGonigle Canyon Ranch Road, situated just south of and parallel to State Route 56, to connect to 56.

Ghossain said a City of San Diego study concluded that 4,000 average daily trips (ADT) on Little McGonigle would be cut-through traffic from Route 56.

The test then showed more speeding and even more cut-through traffic could result in the future and that traffic flow would not improve in Carmel Valley. There would be increased noise, as well, with so many daily trips.

The San Diego Fire Department emergency response goal is to deliver services within seven-and-a-half minutes, Ghossain said, but he noted that the study showed although there was “some time improvement,” it did not meet the San Diego Fire Department’s requirements for shortened time. He concluded, “My recommendation is [to use the road as] a multi-use trail for walking, biking in all weather.”

The next step is a community plan amendment.

Del Mar Mesa board member Lisa Ross praised the traffic study and thanked the plan’s engineers for “taking into account the [rural] character of Del Mar Mesa, which is refreshing.”

Del Mar Mesa board chair Gary Levitt noted the $7 million set aside for this extension could now be used to combat rampant speeding throughout the mesa by installing traffic-calming devices. Gossain recommended Del Mar Mesa residents, who have increasingly complained about dangerous speeders, submit requests for speed deterrents.