A proposed pedestrian path along Vulcan Avenue in Leucadia heads to the Encinitas Planning Commission on Thursday, Sept. 17, for a public hearing on the permits it needs to move forward.
The city-initiated project would build a decomposed granite path on the west side of North Vulcan Avenue between La Costa Avenue and Leucadia Boulevard, according to the city's project page. The roughly 6-foot-wide path would run in the existing dirt-and-gravel parkway parallel to the North County Transit District railroad fence. The project team is evaluating widening it to 8 feet where feasible.
The stretch fronts mainly residential properties and Paul Ecke Elementary School. Pedestrians walking there now share a narrow road with vehicle traffic or navigate an unimproved dirt strip that floods in rain.
One Leucadia resident described the problem in a Jan. 7 feedback form submitted to the city.
"As a 40+ year Leucadia resident I walk the dirt 'path' next to the railroad tracks on Vulcan usually 3 times per week, except, of course during or after rain storms which flood the area forcing me to walk in street traffic."
What the project includes
The scope calls for the decomposed granite surface, a small wooden pedestrian bridge (7 feet by 25 feet) over an existing culvert, sign relocations and connections to existing pedestrian crossings, according to the city's Citizen Participation Plan report. No parallel parking spaces would be removed. No trees would be cut.
The city describes the path as an interim, ADA-compliant improvement. It is not a replacement for the Coastal Rail Trail, which SANDAG is responsible for building. City staff said at the Jan. 13 neighborhood meeting that the path is labeled interim because NCTD plans to double-track the rail line in the area. That double-tracking project is not expected before 2035 based on the latest SANDAG fiscal projections.
The path would also connect to proposed future at-grade railroad crossings at Hillcrest Drive and Glaucus Street, part of a separate rail safety effort. NC Pipeline reported the city was awarded a preliminary $33.6 million federal grant in August for those crossings, a citywide quiet zone and the Verdi Avenue undercrossing. That grant does not cover the Vulcan Avenue path.
Funding gap
The City Council funded $175,000 for design in May 2025, and the city's project page says design is in its final stages. But the estimated $700,000 construction cost has no funding source. The city has said it will seek grant money to cover construction, though no specific application has been identified.
Construction, once funded, would take an estimated five to six months, city staff said at the January neighborhood meeting.
How to weigh in
The hearing begins at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 in the Council Chambers at the Civic Center, 505 S. Vulcan Ave. The project requires both a design review permit and a coastal development permit. Because the site falls within the Coastal Zone, any Planning Commission decision may be appealed to the California Coastal Commission.
Fran Carr, senior planner with Encinitas Development Services, is the staff contact and can be reached at (760) 633-2738 or [email protected]. About 21 residents attended the Jan. 13 neighborhood meeting, and the city mailed 2,147 notices to nearby property owners and occupants.
