Four La Jolla groups create new wish list of projects for San Diego to fund

Seven La Jolla projects are soon to be submitted to the city of San Diego for consideration for funding, part of an annual tradition of local planning groups producing a list of capital improvement proposals they would like the city to implement.

The list was created with input from the La Jolla Community Planning Association, La Jolla Shores Association, Bird Rock Community Council and La Jolla Parks & Beaches.

The Community Planning Association board voted unanimously to give the list its formal support during its Aug. 7 meeting.

In coming weeks, the other participating groups also will vote on it, and it likely will be submitted to the city at the beginning of September.

Rather than create a prioritized list, the groups produced their top seven projects to submit.

They are:

• Resurface the La Jolla Shores boardwalk, also known as Walter Munk Way

• Repave all of Neptune Place and repair infrastructure and flood control systems

• Install three roundabouts on La Jolla Shores Drive

• Repair a belvedere, or gazebo, in Scripps Park that has been closed to the public since October 2023 because of erosion concerns

• Replace broken steps and a seawall at South Casa Beach

• Install adaptive streetlights throughout La Jolla. Such lights can adjust their brightness based on movements by pedestrians or traffic or even on weather conditions.

• Establish pedestrian safety measures such as:

— Install sidewalks on the west side of La Jolla Shores Drive

— Upgrade pedestrian signals throughout La Jolla

— Install a crosswalk at El Paseo Grande and Camino del Oro in La Jolla Shores

— Install stop signs at all corners from La Jolla Shores Drive west to the ocean

— Install a pedestrian-activated crossing at La Jolla Shores Drive and Vallecitos

— Add and upgrade pedestrian-activated crossings along La Jolla Boulevard in Bird Rock

“The city, particularly council District 1, might have a little pocket of money left over from something else and they will [refer] to this list, and if there is something that’s a match, even if it is not a top priority, they will fund it,” said community volunteer Janie Emerson, a former president of the La Jolla Shores Association.

In the past, La Jolla’s community groups would submit separate lists and the city would pick one or two projects based on priorities and funding availability.

But looking to present a united front, representatives of the Community Planning Association, Shores Association, Bird Rock Community Council and Parks & Beaches got together the past few years to produce one list of desired projects.

No. 1 on the first two lists, in 2022 and ’23, was widening and rebuilding the Scripps Park sidewalk along Coast Boulevard. Resurfacing the La Jolla Shores boardwalk was No. 2 both years.

In March 2024, the city allocated $750,000 to draft a plan to widen the sidewalk as one of 19 park projects citywide that will receive a total of $15.9 million in capital improvement funding as part of Mayor Todd Gloria’s “Parks for All of Us” initiative.

A city representative said last month that construction on the sidewalk project is expected to begin late this year or early 2026 and take four to six weeks.

Last year, the groups created an unprioritized top-five list and submitted it for the current 2025-26 fiscal year, based on funding availability.

This year, Emerson said, group leaders put together the new list “in under an hour,” faster than in the past.

LJCPA President Lisa Kriedeman said “everyone was on the same page, which is great.”

In generating ideas to bring to the table, groups including La Jolla Parks & Beaches collected ideas at meetings from the rest of the board. Other groups, such as the Bird Rock Community Council, solicited members for ideas via email and the executive board OK’d the final list.

“Our planning groups work really well together, as we are all focused on making the community better,” said LJSA President John Pierce. “Since a lot of our budget requests overlapped, it was easy to narrow down our priorities.”

— La Jolla Light staff writer Noah Lyons contributed to this report.