TAF was informed on March 19, 2015, that “Caltrans is preparing a feasibility report to assess the potential to relinquish State Route 282 (SR-282) to the city of Coronado.” SR-282 is the portion of Third and Fourth Streets that runs from Orange Avenue to Naval Air Station North Island (NASNI). This includes the portion of Alameda Avenue between Third and Fourth Streets. This is the Avenue of Heroes neighborhood loop.
The process of “relinquishment is the removal of a State highway, either in whole or in part from the State Highway System (SHS),” and a contractual turning it over to another jurisdiction. In the case of SR-282 this would be the city of Coronado. (1)
Currently, all of Third and Fourth Streets are part of the National Highway System, and are under the jurisdiction of Caltrans, District 11. While Third and Fourth Streets are not under the jurisdiction of the city of Coronado, there are areas where both jurisdictions intersect, like cross streets and sidewalks, light posts, and signage.
It is this intersecting of jurisdictions that has led to neglect of the entire Third and Fourth Streets corridor. This sustained neglect is rooted in a lack of a designated pipeline for reporting maintenance issues to Caltrans. The city assumed Caltrans was monitoring the roadway for maintenance issues. Caltrans assumed the city works would notify them of maintenance issues. Coronado if off Caltrans beaten path.
When TAF residents began policing the roadway just over one year ago, both the city of Coronado and Caltrans stepped up to investigate and/or resolve challenges to transportation, maintenance, and roadway safety. They should both be commended for that.
What caused the Caltrans feasibility study for possible relinquishment is not known. The state agency has been wonderful to TAF residents and responsive in every request. What we do know is that the process is in initial phases. “The first step is the feasibility study, the second is to present the finished report to Coronado city staff. Those discussions should begin in coming months.(2)
For relinquishment to be considered it must first be deemed appropriate. Basically, this means “caltrans must first determine whether the relinquishment makes sense from a transportation system perspective.”(2) the greatest challenge to this decision may be that SR-282 is a military installation route. The determining factor is whether or not the highway in question serves “regional or statewide transportation needs.”
Relinquishment has been suggested in the past as a solution for Third and Fourth improvements quagmire. The city of Coronado however, has never requested it. Why that is remains unclear. However, in the end the process of relinquishment may not be up to the city of Coronado. “There may be situations where Caltrans determines that it is in the best interest of the State to relinquish a road even if the local agency does not agree with the relinquishment conditions. (2)
There are advantages to the Avenue of Heroes neighborhood being under Coronado jurisdiction, especially with the current Speed Study findings. As reported previously, according to Caltrans, the study shows 85% of traffic on SR-282 is traveling at 30mph, which means, the speed limit will likely be raised from the current 25mph to 30 mph. On SR-75 the speed limit may be increased to 35mph, a full 10 mph over the current limit.
However, with the Avenue of Heroes neighborhood designation in November of 2014, could be enough to disallow the rise in speed limit, since school zones and neighborhoods are omitted from the National Speed Law.
Another advantage is that the city of Coronado will maintain the roadway in the same manner it does all other streets.
The drawback to relinquishment is the newly uncovered highway designation of SR-282 as a California Legal Highway that prohibits trucks over 65′. Even though this designation was hidden from recent resolutions and has not been enforced, this was an opportunity to quiet the traffic and prevent truck groundings at NASNI entry. A matter TAF feels threatens national security.
If relinquishment is decided, the transfer from state to city jurisdiction will be on the first day of the fiscal year, or calendar year, whichever comes first. Caltrans is not required to bring roadway up to current standards prior to relinquishments.
(1) california department of transportation, Project Development Procedures Manual: CHAPTER 25 Relinquishments
(2) Caltrans
