OCEANSIDE, Calif. (KGTV) – The City of Oceanside is looking into relieving a traffic headache for a neighborhood that’s right next door to Camp Pendleton, the Capistrano neighborhood.
You’ve probably seen it as you’re flying up I-5 heading up to Orange County or Los Angeles.
“The Capistrano neighborhood has long been challenged by access issues,” Jonathan Borrego, the City Manager for the City of Oceanside, said.
“When it gets congested, it's incredibly hard, difficult. It's only one way out. So, at times, I just might as well just stay home,” Edgar Morales, Resident
But those who live here say this place can turn into a traffic nightmare in the mornings because it’s so close to the main gate at Camp Pendleton and there’s one way in and one way out.
“It is terrible to get in and out of here because Camp Pendleton is right over here. The traffic in the morning is terrible,” Michael Villeli, Resident
"Two ways in, one way out. So, you know, things get backed up at the light, it gets backed up on the freeway right behind me here every morning with base traffic,” Lane Scaria, Resident
So the City of Oceanside is looking into ways to get rid of this traffic headache.
“They wanted us to look at different solutions to see if there is a feasible option to get some other point of access in and out of that neighborhood,” Borrego said. “So, we've undertaken that study and are presenting those recommendations.”
Out of 10 options presented to the Oceanside City Council last Wednesday, three options are getting a closer look, and one is being taken back to the state to see if an interchange off-ramp can be built.
“Those essentially involve making a connection out of that neighborhood to Loretta Street, which actually used to be a roadway that once crossed the riverbed, and that was before Highway 76 existed,” Borrego said. “So there is actually a roadway that exists out there, but it involves the construction of a bridge over the river, which of course drives the cost up, but that connection probably makes the most sense for a variety of reasons.”
Now, the funding, design and construction still all need to happen, which Oceanside’s city manager said could take up to 10 years.
“For the city to be thinking about that, that's a sigh of relief for us,” Morales said.
Those who live here welcome the hope of getting another road out of their neighborhood.
“It's good to hear that they're trying to take some action, you know, but, you know, for some of us it's a little too late,” Scaria said. “We just hope that something will happen sooner rather than later.”
