Jerome Stocks wants to turn I-5 into a 14-lane super-freeway through the heart of Encinitas

Read all about it in the Union-Tribune.

Officials at Caltrans and the San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s long-range-planning agency, expect the expansion plan to draw much public scrutiny. They note that it would affect — at a minimum — the half-million people who live along the North Coast corridor.

The project would run through six cities and require the construction of 40 bridges and overpasses, along with noise-reduction walls next to more than 1,500 homes, including apartment complexes, according to Caltrans.

The state has scheduled five public meetings on the just-released draft environmental impact statement. If a recent KPBS radio talk show on the topic is any indication, the workshops might well turn into a forum on mass transit solutions versus bigger highways. Most of the callers to “These days” were encouraging bus, trolley and train improvements over highways.

On the other hand, Encinitas Councilman Jerome Stocks, a member of the SANDAG board of directors, recently told the Union-Tribune that he believes traffic-weary residents will welcome the expansion. By 2030, Caltrans estimates that one million vehicles a day will be on the I-5 highway.

The public will have five opportunities to ask questions and express its concerns and interests:

July 27 - Encinitas - Encinitas Community & Senior Center, Room 142