Category Archives: San Diego County

STOP signs coming soon to Balboa Arms Dr and Derrick Dr in the Clairemont area of San Diego, making turns easier and improving pedestrian safety.

The City of San Diego has a fairly easy, although somewhat troublesome to find, webpage that allows citizens to make requests for traffic control devices and more. If you’re looking to get a STOP sign installed, red zone added or removed, or most any change to a roadway (not maintenance related), I recommend sending the City a message via their site. The City does take these requests seriously and will investigate them. If, after their survey, the change is indeed warranted, they may make it happen. Keep in mind that these changes will not happen overnight. Some of my requests took months from start to finish. Just by using that page, I’ve had two stop sign requests and trail crossing signs approved. Anyone can make a positive change to their neighborhood. I’m not special, I just made the requests when I felt those changes would help others and improve safety.

City Of San Diego – Traffic Services Request

BNSF, California, Del Mar, Railroads, San Diego, San Diego County

Original railroad bed near Del Mar, CA

March 21, 2016 Michael F Ballard 1 Comment

The railroad line that runs from San Diego to Los Angeles has seen many changes since it was originally constructed the early 1880’s. One of those changes was at the Los Penasquitos Marsh, otherwise known as Soledad Marsh. Originally, the railroad went around the marsh, passing along the hills to the north instead of going directly through as it does today. This realignment took place in 1925. The portion of the alignment crossing the marsh is still used as a utility right-of-way. The majority of the line outside the marsh has long since been redeveloped into housing.

Other than the short section of original right-of-way remaining, the only other trace of the route is through property lines. This lasting section of right-of-way represents one of the last section of intact original grade within the City of San Diego.

Slightly rehabilitated section of the roadbed.

Remnants of the railroad include a short section of cut, some grading, and a culvert. These remnants are mostly in the area along Caminito Mar Villa, a private roadway. Use caution if you choose to explore this area.

Roadbed of the California Southern Railroad, bypassed in the 1930's. — Roadbed of the California Southern Railroad, bypassed in the 1930’s.

Original railroad culvert used by the current roadway.

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Highway Resources Page

September 11, 2015 Michael F Ballard Leave a comment

I’ve recently added a new section to the socalregion website. I noticed the site was lacking in resources for local roadways. In particular, information on how to contact various local agencies for road projects, logs, and maintenance. With this in mind, I’ve added a new page to help others get their roads fixed and find out more information about those roadways. I’ve called it the “Southern California Highway Resources” page, which can be found on the Southern California Highways page and via this link.