Families, safety advocates press Encinitas council to prioritize 'Safe Streets' and red‑light cameras
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Summary
At the Encinitas City Council's annual retreat public comment period, Safe Streets Encinitas and bereaved families urged the city to make pedestrian and cyclist safety a top priority for the 2026–27 work plan, calling for traffic studies, intersection improvements and consideration of a red‑light camera program with public impact review under SB 720.
Residents and safety advocates pressed the Encinitas City Council to elevate traffic safety in next year’s strategic goals, citing recent deaths and near‑misses involving pedestrians and cyclists.
Multiple Safe Streets Encinitas representatives outlined a package of policy and infrastructure steps they want on the 2026–27 work plan, including targeted traffic calming, intersection studies near schools and a post‑incident review process. "Our vision is to eliminate serious injuries and deaths on our city streets through infrastructure, enforcement, and education," Safe Streets founding member Lara Grimmer said during public comment.
Speakers emphasized data: group presenters reported that in 2025 Encinitas recorded pedestrian and cyclist fatalities and asked the council to prioritize studies to identify the intersections most in need of redesign. Safe Streets asked the council to consider modern enforcement tools and to include a transparent impact study and public input process if the city pursues a red‑light camera program under SB 720.
Family members of victims also addressed the council. Bridget Chelekian, whose daughter was killed at an intersection in April, said, "If we still have red light cameras on our streets, the chances of that crash happening would be slim," pressing for enforcement authorities that change driver behavior.
Council members and staff took note of the requests during the retreat’s planning exercises, which emphasized aligning staff capacity and the capital improvement program with council priorities. No formal action or vote took place at the retreat; council and staff directed the facilitator’s group process toward drafting goals and objectives staff will refine for formal consideration later in the budget cycle.
Next steps: staff will incorporate safety‑related objectives into the fiscal‑year planning documents and return to council with recommended studies, potential pilot programs and funding options for the 2026–27 work plan.
