The Oceanside City Council received a Coastal Rail Trail feasibility study at its Jan. 22 meeting that analyzes options to extend and fill gaps in a multiuse trail between Buccaneer Park and South Coast Highway.

The lede: Consultant ALTA Planning and Design recommended a preferred northern alignment (Myers to Broadway via a north-side rail overcrossing, including a bridge) and a southern alignment that connects Broadway to Eaton using a shared-use trail with a preferred variant that reduces private-property impacts.

Why it matters: The study maps options to create a continuous multiuse trail along the corridor, links the trail into Buccaneer Park and identifies a planning-level cost estimate of approximately $11 million for design and construction of the recommended segments and overcrossing.

Study highlights
- Scope and funding: The study covered the corridor from Buccaneer Park to South Coast Highway and was funded in part by a Caltrans sustainable transportation planning grant ($339,000, plus city match). Roughly a quarter of that grant was allocated to public outreach.
- Public outreach: Pop-up events, workshops and a digital survey captured 364 responses, with many respondents prioritizing safety as a top concern for the trail.
- Preferred alternatives: The consultant recommended "N1" for the north segment (Myers to Broadway via a north-side overcrossing with a bridge) and "S3" for the south segment (Broadway to Eaton, a south-side alignment chosen to reduce private-property impacts after initial analysis showed S2 had larger property and roadway impacts).
- Bridge/overcrossing: The study recommends designing an overcrossing structure at Moore Street as part of a future phase; NCTD (the rail agency) was consulted and indicated it is open to the recommendation but further engineering would be required.
- Estimated cost and next steps: The study-level design and construction cost estimate for the recommended elements is approximately $11 million. The next phase would prepare construction documents and overcrossing structure design; the consultant identified active-transportation grant programs (for example, Caltrans' Active Transportation Program) as likely funding sources.

Nut graf: The council did not select a final alignment or design in the meeting; staff and consultants presented the feasible options and the study was received for additional refinement and finalization, and staff said the final document will be updated to remove references to unrelated planning policies per council direction before publication.

Ending: Staff will publish the final study (with edits requested by council) and pursue grant funding opportunities to advance project design and engineering.

Speakers and attribution: Teela Carter, City Traffic Engineer; Kristen Hockham, ALTA Planning & Design; staff and NCTD representatives participated in consultation. Direct quotes in follow-up coverage should be attributed to those speakers listed here.

Provenance: Item 15, Coastal Rail Trail feasibility study presentation in the Jan. 22 meeting transcript.