ENCINITAS — The Encinitas City Council voted 4-1 on June 24 to continue pursuing modifications to the western phase of Santa Fe Drive after city engineers presented the project’s 50% design plans during a special meeting.
In November 2025, the council voted 4-1 to remove controversial features along Santa Fe Drive, including a separated bike lane on the south side of the road and roadside planter boxes. The overhaul would also convert newly installed back-in parking spaces to parallel parking and widen travel lanes from 10 feet to 11 feet.
The reconstruction is expected to cost the city more than $3 million.
City Engineer Badr Suleiman said staff hopes to present final designs to the council for approval in October and start construction next summer.
Since its inception, the project has divided both council members and residents, with supporters and opponents continuing to debate the proposed changes.
Mayor Bruce Ehlers, who supports the modifications, cited several incidents involving the separated bike lanes in which bicyclists and pedestrians were struck by oncoming vehicles. Ehlers said he believes the project will improve safety along Santa Fe Drive by reducing the risk of right-hook collisions while saving the city money over the long term.
“I am very sensitive to the cost, and I don’t like to waste money, but what we’re setting us up for is a settlement or multiple settlements over the years of multi-million dollars,” Ehlers said.
Councilmember Joy Lyndes, the lone dissenting vote, said she did not believe it was logical to spend more than $3 million on a project she said would make the road “less safe for bicycles.”
Lyndes also said she believed some council members’ motivations for the rebuild were influenced by frustrations with state Sen. Catherine Blakespear, a former Encinitas mayor, who helped secure $3 million in state funding for the original Santa Fe Drive improvements and has been a vocal advocate for maintaining its current design.
The meeting came a few weeks after Blakespear proposed a “gut-and-amend” measure, Senate Bill 569. A gut-and-amend bill replaces the original text of existing legislation with new language or subject matter, allowing lawmakers to advance new policy without introducing an entirely new bill.
If approved, SB 569, originally introduced to expedite the removal of homeless encampments, would prohibit state-funded bikeways from being converted to non-active transportation uses or changed in ways that “reduce safety, accessibility or mobility” for up to 20 years or the project’s expected lifespan, whichever is shorter.
On June 29, the bill passed the Assembly Transportation Committee by a 13-2 vote and now advances to the next stage of consideration in the Assembly. Ehlers, who traveled to Sacramento for the hearing, spoke in opposition to the bill.
Before the meeting, about 15 demonstrators gathered outside City Hall to protest the proposal. Some held signs reading “Improve, don’t remove” and chanted, “Dangerous streets have got to go” and “Encinitas, do what’s right. Keep our bike lanes safe tonight” before attending the special City Council meeting.
“We need to stall — stall the bulldozers is what we’re trying to do,” demonstrator Dadla Ponizil said.
During public comment, speakers voiced both support for and opposition to the project.
Patty Stottlemyer, a former emergency room nurse, said she supports the modifications because she believes they will improve conditions for emergency vehicles by allowing motorists to pull over more easily.
“My priority is traffic flow for cars, trucks, emergency vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians to get through,” Stottlemyer said.
Resident Ed Sprague, who is running for the council’s District 3 seat, also supported the rebuild, saying that while there is no perfect solution, the current configuration of Santa Fe Drive is not working.
Sprague said that whenever he approaches the area from either direction and sees the traffic congestion, he chooses another route. He said the backups divert drivers onto neighborhood streets and other alternate routes.
“When we have an increase in residents move into the area, this is only going to get worse, so we’re going to see even more congestion in the area,” Sprague said. “Congestion isn’t necessarily a safe solution. It oftentimes makes the situation even worse.”
Others strongly opposed the proposal.
Judy Berlfein, chair of Encinitas Bike Walk, said removing the existing bike infrastructure would make the roadway less safe for cyclists. While she appreciated the council’s efforts to improve traffic safety near Park Dale Lane Elementary School in Village Park, she said the Santa Fe Drive proposal prioritizes motorist convenience over bicycle infrastructure.
“With this design here, it’s two steps backward,” Berlfein said.
Berlfein told The Coast News she did not expect to change any council members’ minds but wanted to use the rally and public comments to educate residents about the council’s thinking ahead of the November election.
San Diego County Bicycle Coalition field representative Quincie Bump, who attended both the rally and the meeting, told The Coast News she was disappointed but not surprised by the council’s decision to move forward because she viewed Lyndes as the council’s only advocate for active transportation.
Bump also criticized the overall tone of the meeting, saying she felt it was “diminishing of the cycling population.”
“I think that, in general, there is a tone of driver safety is the utmost. Driver safety is what is the priority, and I think that needs to change because I think that all modes of transportation should be treated equally,” Bump said.
