District Working Collaboratively to Foster Rail Safety and Reliability

Oceanside CA— The North County Transit District (NCTD) today released an independent visual analysis and mapping of proposed fencing along the Del Mar bluffs. The visual analysis and mapping are the next step in NCTD’s collaboration process with the California Coastal Commission (Coastal Commission) and the City of Del Mar to enhance safety and rail service reliability along the bluffs in the City of Del Mar and provide safe and legal beach access.
NCTD, at the request of the Coastal Commission and City of Del Mar, retained CivilPros (a DBA of RailPros Holdings, LLC) to conduct the right-of-way mapping and other services to foster a complete understanding of the modified fencing proposal, including a visual impact analysis that addresses the potential effects of the fencing on public viewsheds. The current fencing plan includes modifications responsive to public input and feedback from the City of Del Mar and the Coastal Commission. The mapping, visual impact analysis and simulations can be found here.
“NCTD remains committed to working with the Coastal Commission and the City of Del Mar to develop a community-sensitive solution for the bluffs that promotes rail safety and ensures reliability, while also providing safe and legal beach access and use of the trails on the upper bluff,” said Matthew O. Tucker, NCTD’s Executive Director. “The modified project shown in the mapping and visual analysis reflects public and stakeholder input. This analysis is one part of our effort to ensure a collaborative, constructive, and transparent process.”
The original fencing plan has been refined to be more community-sensitive while advancing increased safety and continued access to the trails. The modified fencing plan reduces the overall length of the fencing from 12,960 linear feet in the original plan, to 6,876 linear feet in the modified plan. The modified plan also refines the fencing height and type. The original plan included 6-foot chain link fencing throughout the entire length of the project. In response to feedback from community stakeholders, the modified plan also reduces the height to 4 feet or less for nearly half of the project (3,163 linear feet) and includes post and cable fencing for most of those sections. The CivilPros study includes the modified project map and visual simulations of the fencing for the original and modified plans.
NCTD continues to collaborate with the Coastal Commission and the City of Del Mar through a working group established to achieve a solution for the Del Mar bluffs that supports rail safety and operations and preserves coastal access. The working group, which was formed through an agreement between the three agencies, is scheduled to complete its work by December 31, 2021.
Read a Public Update about the project along with full project history and frequently asked questions at GoNCTD.com. NCTD also encourages the public to visit our Trespasser Mitigation webpage for additional information related to this project and other initiatives.