Residents urge funding for Lucadia rail crossings; staff requests $300,000 to finish design

Narrow, well‑attended public comment at the Encinitas budget workshop focused heavily on Lucadia rail safety, with a stream of residents urging the council to set aside local funds so federal grant matches can be met.

Nancy Dejino, representing Now Lucadia and speaking as a long‑time Lucadia resident, described a traumatic scene from the 1990s and said safe crossings “would lessen the probability of this happening again in the future.” Multiple other commenters said they had gathered hundreds of petition signatures and decades of community advocacy supporting at‑grade crossings.

Engineering Director Dan Nutter briefed the council after public comment: staff said administrative approval from the rail regulator (CPU) was received near the end of February and that the city needs roughly $300,000 to finish design work. Nutter said full design completion is anticipated by the end of the calendar year if the design funds are authorized; staff currently has budget to continue design into early July but needs a contract amendment to proceed through final design.

On mitigation of horn noise, Nutter said staff is pursuing an alternate audible warning system (wayside horns) that would reduce train horn noise if the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) grants the necessary waiver. He estimated wayside horns at about $150,000 and emphasized that the FRA must approve the alternate system; he cautioned it is not guaranteed. Nutter also described the quiet‑zone proposal that would extend from Chesterfield up through Lucadia Boulevard but said the FRA requires vehicular crossings to serve as bookends, which prevents extending the zone farther north without coordination and approvals from neighboring jurisdictions.

Council members pressed staff on timing and grant matches. Staff said the FRA grant applications the city submitted require a 20 percent local match; the three federal grant match estimates presented to council were about $1.3 million for the Lucadia at‑grade crossings, $2.9 million for a citywide quiet‑zone project, and $4.2 million for an undercrossing project noted in staff materials. Staff said federal grant award notices typically come in roughly four to eight months, with some expectation awards could be announced in summer but no guaranteed timeline.

What this means: staff is asking the council to decide whether to allocate design funds in the FY26–27 calculator (the $300,000 design request currently appears in the draft) and whether to reserve local match funds should the city be awarded FRA grants. Council did not vote at the workshop; staff will return with follow‑up and the April 8 allocation session will be the next formal chance to commit funds.