Encinitas will sue California over a state law that bars the city from removing a protected bike lane on Santa Fe Drive for at least five years.
The City Council voted 4-1 in closed session Wednesday, Oct. 21, to pursue the lawsuit, as first reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune. Councilmember Joy Lyndes cast the lone no vote. If the city removes the lane in violation of Senate Bill 114, it must repay $3.09 million in state grant money used to build the project.
In a separate 3-2 vote during the regular meeting, the council chose a new design for South Coast Highway 101 near San Elijo State Beach. The plan replaces the current plastic-bollard-protected bike lane on the west side of the highway with a wide, sidewalk-style promenade for pedestrians and slower cyclists. Traditional edge-of-roadway bike lanes would remain for faster riders.
The Santa Fe Drive fight
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed SB 114 on Sept. 18, adding a provision that specifically prevents Encinitas from removing or modifying the protected bike lane on Santa Fe Drive for at least its first five years. Between five and 15 years, the city could remove it only if the change provides "equal or greater safety, accessibility and mobility for non-motorized users," the law states.
State Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a former Encinitas mayor, pushed for the provision. She helped the city obtain the $3.09 million grant for the Santa Fe Drive project in 2023 and has said the law protects cyclist safety near San Dieguito High School Academy. Other proposed changes to the roadway, including removing back-in parking spots, are not affected by SB 114, Blakespear has said, according to the Union-Tribune.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers and the council majority disagree. Ehlers has said the protected lane is dangerous because numerous driveway entrances along that stretch create the potential for "right-hook" accidents, where a turning vehicle strikes a cyclist. The council majority has proposed replacing the south-side protected lane with a traditional, painted bike lane while keeping the north-side protected lane next to the high school.
The Santa Fe Drive project was approved under a previous, Democrat-majority council. After the November 2024 election shifted the majority, Lyndes became the council's lone registered Democrat. She has said the protected lane should stay because it is safer for young cyclists near the school.
No details about the lawsuit's legal theory, the court where it will be filed, or whether the city has retained outside counsel have been made public.
Coast Highway 101 redesign
All five council members agreed on replacing the protected bike lane along South Coast Highway 101 with the wider promenade option. The 3-2 split came over where to place a new signalized pedestrian crossing.
Lyndes, Deputy Mayor Jim O'Hara and Councilmember Marco San Antonio voted to install a push-button signal at the unofficial Harbaugh Seaside Trail crossing near the Solana Beach city limits. San Antonio said he had initially favored a full traffic signal at the South Cardiff State Beach driveway farther north but changed his mind after visiting the area with Solana Beach officials.
"It's like the path of least resistance," San Antonio said of the trail crossing, according to the Union-Tribune.
Ehlers and Councilmember Luke Shaffer voted against that location. They argued more vehicles use the state beach driveway and said the city will regret not putting a full signal there as traffic grows. The majority responded that the council can revisit the signal location later.
Solana Beach officials spoke at the Oct. 21 meeting in support of the Harbaugh Trail crossing option, and the council majority noted grant funding is available for that choice.
The next regular City Council meeting is Wednesday, Oct. 28.
