La Jolla Village News, March 11th, 2010

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SPRING AHEAD Don’t forget to set your clock ahead one hour when you go to sleep Saturday!

San Diego Community Newspaper Group

www.SDNEWS.com Volume 15, Number 26

THURSDAY, MARCH 11, 2010

Resident proposes staircase at Calumet La Jolla Country Day School’s Maya Hood skies for a rebound despite pressure from The Bishop’s School’s Bryn Stark (21) and Sophia Terrassi (2). The Torreys won the Girls CIF Division IV Basketball Championship by a score of 62-51 at USD’s Jenny Craig Pavilion on March 6. DON BALCH | Village News

BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS Bird Rock has a beautiful, tranquil coastline, but it’s difficult to access and arduous to traverse the smooth, round rocks and boulders that form the beach. Bird Rock resident Claudia Anderson is a surfer who would like to see more access points to the coastline. She proposes building a staircase at Calumet Park to enable more people to visit the tide pools in Bird Rock. A well-worn dirt path currently leads from the park down to the beach. Anderson aired her suggestion at the Bird Rock Community Council (BRCC) meeting on March 2. “The question is, ‘What is Bird Rock?’” Anderson said. “We’re not just restaurants and shops. People are missing the fact that we have a great natural resource in our backyard — tide pools. Access to the beach will help bring people to visit Bird Rock. [The tide pools] will bring the right type of person who is an educated person interested in tide pools. They’ll shop in our stores.” BRCC member Felicia Parker said she is hesitant about the idea because she worries about the impact more people would have on the ecosystem of the tide pools. Anderson argued that the tide pools are a great resource for children to learn about marine life and oceanography. Other attendees at the meeting questioned whether the neighbors would want more visitors in their neighborhood. No city funding is currently available for the staircase. “If the proposal receives the support of the community groups, pri-

Claudia Anderson would like to see a staircase built at Calumet Park where a well-worn dirt path currently leads from the park to the beach. ADRIANE TILLMAN | Village News

vate funding would likely need to be identified before the project could proceed,” said Erin Demorest, spokeswoman for District 1 City Councilwoman Sherri Lightner. Meanwhile, the city is working to redesign the vista point at the end of Midway Street in La Jolla that is currently closed off. The city plans to install an iron fence, new benches and to landscape the area. The city has identified $65,000 of the estimated $125,000 needed, according to BRCC past-president Joe LaCava. The city needs to secure all the funding for the project before it can begin construction, which is estimated to start in late 2011. To voice your opinion about building a staircase at Calumet Park e-mail brcc@san.rr.com.

LJCD cagers net CIF title in win over Bishop’s game,” LJCD head coach Terri Bamford said. Both teams started the game a little sluggish and ended the The La Jolla Country Day School girls’ basketball team added first quarter with LJCD up 8-7. The Lady Torreys took a 20-16 yet another CIF title to its registry in a 62-51 win over rival The halftime lead and then went on a 6-0 run to start the third Bishop’s School in last Saturday’s CIF Division IV championship quarter. at the University of San Diego. While Elegado spent a good portion of the third quarter on LJCD’s Ariana Elegado (15 points overall) led the way in the the bench due to foul trouble, freshman Brianne Yasukochi fourth quarter, registering 10 points and six assists as the Lady came off the bench to play stellar defense and keep Bishop’s Torreys (25-3) defeated Bishop’s for the third time this season, from regaining the lead, while Elegado sat by waiting to lead her including a pair of Coastal League wins. “From the first tip you knew this was going to be a tough SEE LJCD, Page 9 BY DAVE THOMAS | VILLAGE NEWS

Northern LJ gateway receives funds Stimulus dollars will go toward beautification and safety BY ADRIANE TILLMAN | VILLAGE NEWS A half million dollars in federal stimulus money has been allocated to spruce up the northern gateway into La Jolla — namely the last leg of Torrey Pines Road from the village to the shores. More than a dozen members of the community banded together six years ago to study the corridor to make it safer for pedestrians and neighbors, and to beautify the area in a project called the Torrey Pines Corridor Study. To beautify the corridor, a wooden fence will be built along Torrey Pines Road and trees will “It’s probably the most significant proCOURTESY ART ject to come along since the Bird Rock be planted along the roadway and sidewalk.

corridor project,” said Robert Thiele, who chaired the Torrey Pines Corridor Study Committee. “This is the entrance to La Jolla on the north side and it’s really a gateway project that will benefit La Jolla for years and years to come for walk-ability and safety. It connects the village to the shores and from the shores to the hillside. It’s a very important triangle of walk-ability.” City engineers will start with $167,000 to begin the preliminary design work and cost estimates. The city plans to return to the community within the next three

months to prioritize the improvements. The community will have a chance to revisit the more controversial proposal to install a pedestrian signal light at Princess Street, for example. The light will provide easier access to the beach for neighbors and pedestrians on the east side of the street but will also slow traffic. The idea is to redesign the street to make it safer for pedestrians to walk along the road and to open up view corridors to the ocean that are currently SEE FUNDS, Page 4


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