• Grand Avenue Update

A couple of quick updates involving Grand Avenue. 

Newly repaired fence posts.

You may remember that it was reported on November 21st about part of the Grand Avenue multi-purpose trail that had been plowed into by a hit and run driver.

I don't have any cost details at this time, but I'm happy to report that this was repaired promptly and it's good as new again!

What it looked like on November 20th.

The second item will interest those that either use Ortega Highway, or get to Lake Elsinore by way of Grand.

I noticed these soft barriers while driving down Grand Ave on the way to work.
Um, errr... I was using a tripod for those wondering.

Too many drivers don't respect the rules of the road so now they've installed several clusters of flexible delineators to prevent illegal passing. 

I counted twelve delineators in each cluster.

I first encountered them at about quarter till five in the morning, and can only imagine how long it'll take before someone plows into them. I'm all for slowing down the crazy drivers, I just hope they don't come with unintended consequences as uncaring drivers play chicken with them.

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Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.
– T.S. Elliot

Mr. Elliot makes a good point, but Wildomar Rap is hopeful that he wouldn't extend that to reckless drivers.

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• Grand Avenue Sinkhole

Monday March 5th a sinkhole on Grand Avenue, between McVicar and Clinton Keith, opened up necessitating a detour around the area. Local residents were allowed through, but not general traffic.

As of 11:00am Tuesday morning.

As this blog was being written, a local resident posted a message on the Wildomar Rap facebook page indicating that it had just reopened (around 2:45pm Tuesday).

Looking east down McVicar at 2:00 pm.

The street has been the site of a new multipurpose trail and bike lanes. The sinkhole opened up after the recent rains we had. The contractor working on the multi-use trail project discovered it and reported to city staff approx 5pm.

The asphalt patch over the sinkhole is in the northbound lane (far side of road). The southbound lane shows considerable damage too, just not bad enough to need emergency repairs. The muddy water in the foreground is not part of the road.

While out taking photos of the sinkhole, I chatted with a resident that lives on Grand; nice fellow. I asked his thoughts on the improvements (the multipurpose trail and bike lane). 

In addition to the sinkhole repair, the start of the bike lane was installed today. On the west side of Grand, you can see the multipurpose trail. It's nearly complete in that area.

He prefaced his words with, "Most people don't like change," which I agreed with.

He has lived there for sixteen years and really hasn't noted that many bike riders, or even horses, that use that part of Grand, but did note that now any trash that accumulates there will not have to be picked up by the locals. (Seems like a fair assumption, that the city will be maintaining the new trail).

Another angle of the sinkhole and the new bike lane.

He made a key point about what he sees happening with the new bike lane. Paraphrasing, he suggested that the additional eight feet of pavement will be used as a passing lane by speeders. 

Funny thing, that's what the bike lanes on Grand in Lakeland Village are used for during the early commuting hours (4:30am - 5:30am).

Yet another angle.

The other thing I noticed, not that we didn't already know it by driving down Grand, was how poor the road surface is. 

A great deal of the road is one continuous, shallow sink hole with year after year of patchwork repairs. 

From what I remember, from the various past meetings I've attended where this project has come up, there wasn't enough money in the budget to fully repave Grand Ave, though that is what Assistant City Manager Dan York would have preferred. 

This is from the March 2016 blog covering the multipurpose trails.
Click this link to read it.

Yes, yes, no one has any money for anything in Wildomar, we get that, but it's still fair to document the conditions. Which are similar on many other key roads throughout the city. 

A closer look at a sampling of the southbound lane.

Still, if it comes to the ballot, I'll be voting to repeal the SB1 gas tax imposed by dubious means last year. 

That's the one that promises (for the third time in about a dozen years) that the state legislature won't steal the road repair monies and use them for other purposes. Sorry, I don't believe them.

Addendum

Opinion about the roads

I almost forgot, some people need the obvious pointed out when it comes to the current road conditions of Wildomar? 

The roads were inherited from the county upon cityhood. 

Then there was a recession that choked the entire region for many years, which reduced the revenues for local municipalities. Couple that with the infamous theft of 20% of Wildomar's budget by the governor from 2011 to 2018, and it's a miracle that there are any roads here at all. 

Before anyone thinks the city leaders are the cause of the woeful road conditions, think again. I do have a solution, for those willing to bite the bullet.

Like I've said many times, we can have anything we want (brand new roads, fifty more cops) it just takes money —your money. 

Let me see a show of hands of property owners eager to have their taxes raised to pay for such things?

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"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

– Albert Einstein

Wildomar Rap knows of a two additional ways to live your life. Third is as though everything is made of chocolate. The fourth is that nothing is made of chocolate... not even chocolate.

• Bike Lanes in Wildomar

 I just got done reading an article about bike lanes coming to Wildomar. 

Go over and read it.

Link to Article in Press Enterprise

Here are some of the salient facts in the article.

PHASE I
WHAT: Installation of bike lanes on Clinton Keith Road from George Street to Grand Avenue and on Grand Avenue from Clinton Keith to David A. Brown Middle School
WHEN: Construction, February-May 2015
COST: $949,500, (Grant funding - $613,800)

Leaving the city with a bill of $335,700

PHASE II
WHAT: Installation of bike lanes on Grand Avenue from David A. Brown Middle School to Corydon Street.
WHEN: Construction, February-May 2016
COST: $1,019,100 (Grant funding - $746,640)

Leaving the city with a bill of $272,460

For a combined total of  $608,160  for the city to pay. 

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Good News... since I first posted this blog, I've learned that the city will be using Measure "A" funds to pay for this. See update below.

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We've long since needed bike paths, along with curb, gutter and sidewalks throughout our city. All the places I'd lived in the past had curb, gutter and sidewalks, but that would be bank-a-roni  to bring here... and by the looks of the costs for these two projects [with no mention of curb, gutter or sidewalk in the article, but it did mention 'sidewalks' in the headline] it makes me blanch to think of how much it must cost to provide such things throughout The W. 

There is no doubt that we need bike lanes. When I moved here in 2001, I had my kids ride their bikes to school. That was to David A. Brown and Elsinore High School from The 'Song (Windsong Valley for the uninitiated). Had I known how truly dangerous those routes were, and continue to be, I wouldn't have had them bike to school. 

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Still, money is a real factor, and the streets mentioned here are a nice start, but are barely a fraction of the streets without bike lanes. My question to the city is: 

Is there actually room in our budget for this?

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UPDATE TO THIS BLOG ENTRY

I can see that I jumped the gun when I posted this (I was ready to turn the computer off for the day). I didn't wait for some questions I had out there to be answered first.

 [Note to self: Hold your horses next time... Check ✓]

After posting this blog, Council Member Bridgette Moore apprised me of the following info: 

The City is "matching" with Measure A funds. The full staff report can be read here, starting on page 1,438.

It's a long report, so remember to enter the page number when you get there.

Click to read Staff Report

So, there is room in the budget for this, and I'm happy to post the update. It's always good to have our concerns dealt with in a timely manner.