NCTD Abandons Rail Safety Fence Plans

Rail traffic on the Del Mar bluffs is extremely high, pushing for the need to move the tracks.

NCTD

DEL MAR, Calif. - The North County Transit District has abandoned plans for a rail safety fence along the Del Mar bluffs.

According to a report in The Coast News Group, this comes after the NCTD settled with the California Coastal Commission in September. It has also filed a dismissal motion with the Federal Surface Transportation Board.

Previously, the North County Transit District decided to go with “plans for 3,723 linear feet of 4- to 6-foot fencing along the Del Mar bluffs beginning at the Coast Boulevard railroad crossing, despite the city rejecting a project agreement and NCTD failing to obtain a Coastal Development Permit.” Residents disagreed with the fencing plans, believing it would not increase safety but only serve to block coastal access. In April 2022, the California Coastal Commission filed a lawsuit against NCTD to block the project because it believed it violated the California Environmental Quality Act and the Coastal Act. Now that NCTD has abandoned the project and dismissed the petition, it asked for “recognition of its sole authority over the project” on September 19th.

In an Oct. 10th motion submitted to the Surface Transportation Board, NCTD said, “Once this Board proceeding has been dismissed, the Coastal Commission has agreed to file its dismissal of this state case with prejudice.”

Del Mar Councilmember Terry Gaasterland said, “The settlement agreement between NCTD and the Coastal Commission and between NCTD and Friends of the Del Mar Bluff paves the way to work together going forward without the specter of unsightly 4-foot or 6-foot chain link or hog-wire fencing stretching from north to south along the fragile Del Mar Bluff.”

The Del Mar Bluff Stabilization Project is currently underway, and one of its conditions is that the agency “is required to provide coastal access opportunities, including a new trail along the bluff.” This settlement agreement says the project allows for a low-profile fencing design that would include 3-foot tall wooden pylons and steel cabling.