ENCINITAS — Leucadia Cyclery owner Jeff Schade noticed the heavy machinery about 10 feet from his storefront had not moved in a long time. In February, Schade jokingly hung a six-foot sign over a piece of construction equipment in front of his shop and left it there.
“The tractor did not start its engine for three weeks and sat in front of Avocado Street with no movement,” Schade said.
Large construction equipment still dots the shoulders, medians and work zones along North Coast Highway 101 as crews continue work on the Leucadia Streetscape project, which aims to improve mobility for pedestrians and cyclists along the 2.5-mile corridor while beautifying the area.
The total cost of the project, which broke ground in January 2021, is more than $65 million, according to iBank loan documents.
The project’s initial phase, Segment A2 (North), was completed in 2022 and featured roadway and sidewalk improvements, along with new roadside trees, from Marcheta Street to Basil Street. In 2023, as part of Segment B-C, the city added new striping, a bike lane and median modifications between Basil Street and La Costa Avenue, while installing flashing crosswalks at Diana Street and North Court.
Preliminary designs for Segment B, from Basil Street to Jupiter Street, and Segment A1 (South), from A Street to Marcheta Street, are complete, but construction funding has not yet been secured.
Segment C, the current phase of the multi-year project stretching from Jupiter Street to La Costa Avenue, carries an estimated $32 million price tag. Construction began in 2024 and was originally scheduled for completion by summer 2025, according to the project’s website.
However, after the City Council approved additional drainage improvements, including a new storm drain system to help reduce flooding along the corridor, the project’s timeline was extended by about a year and a half, Director of Engineering Dan Nutter told The Coast News.
According to the city, crews have completed the project’s largest storm drain installations, paved the northbound lanes and installed about 1,000 feet of new water main. Construction is now focused on sewer and drainage infrastructure, additional water main installation, paving and median improvements between Jupiter Street and La Costa Avenue.
The city now expects Segment C to be completed by October, with sidewalk and road work expected to be “up close and personal” with businesses over the next few months, Nutter said.
But business owners along the corridor said the prolonged construction has hurt their bottom line by limiting customer access and creating safety concerns.
Stacy Reddell, executive director of the Leucadia 101 Mainstreet Association, a nonprofit that supports businesses along the Coast Highway 101 corridor, said sales declined an average of 25% to 40% among the 20 businesses she surveyed over the past year.
The Leucadian Bar co-owner David Shapiro said his business has struggled to stay afloat during the past few years of Streetscape construction. While he acknowledged the need for the roadway and drainage improvements, the loss of street parking has discouraged customers from booking events at The Leucadian.
“Revenue got stagnant as soon as the project started,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro said customers have told him they avoid Coast Highway 101 because construction has made it difficult to access businesses and navigate the corridor, a concern Schade echoed.
“When (customers) say that, it’s a stab to the heart,” Schade said.
Leucadia Donut Shoppe owner Tom Chu said construction has made it difficult for northbound customers to reach his business, forcing many to continue driving to La Costa Avenue to make a U-turn. As a result, according to Chu, sales have declined this summer compared with previous years.
Reddell said that the lack of a closer U-turn has inconvenienced customers and significantly affected businesses along the corridor.
Schade, who also serves as a board member of the Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association, said the disruption would be easier to accept if businesses saw steady progress.
“It would be something we could deal with if there was some communication, but the frustration is that I sit 10 feet in front of the construction and every day I see, on average, one or two guys, maybe once or twice a week,” Schade said.
Sip-N-Sea owner Giuseppe Georgees said he often went months without seeing construction crews working in front of his business.
Nutter, however, said the project is only behind schedule by about a month, which is “pretty darn good” for a construction project of this size.
“I have not seen or heard of (the city) having no construction activities for two or more days on a consistent basis,” Nutter said. 
For Leucadia 101 MainStreet Association Treasurer Kevin Doyle, the project’s delays have prolonged the disruption for businesses along the corridor. Doyle, who previously served on the city’s Planning Commission, said the project, first proposed in 2008, could have been completed more than a decade ago if construction had begun as originally planned in 2010.
Doyle said just a few months of construction can be devastating for small businesses that depend on daily customer foot traffic — let alone years of ongoing construction.
“My big concern right now is we’re going to shut those businesses down for three to six months, and most of them won’t make it,” Doyle said.
Business owners also cited safety concerns along the corridor, saying a lack of safe pedestrian crossings and access points has discouraged customers from visiting area shops.
Georgees said he witnessed a customer and the customer’s dog nearly struck by a passing vehicle right in front of his shop. The city has since installed temporary orange barricades in front of the business.
Safety concerns prompted Schade to take matters into his own hands. With no defined sidewalk in front of his shop, Schade said pedestrians were forced onto what he described as “a strip of cracked-up asphalt.” To create a buffer, he placed A-frame signs along the roadway’s edge, several of which have since been struck by passing vehicles.
“There are cars going 30-35 miles per hour about 24 inches away from people walking their dogs,” Schade said.
Schade also installed flashing red bicycle lights to warn southbound drivers that the lane narrows, and added LED lighting along the eaves of his storefront due to the lack of streetlights between The Leucadian Bar and Avocado Street, a stretch of road he described as “pitch black” at night.
Nikolas Harth, co-owner of Surfhouse Hotel and Coffee Coffee, both located along North Coast Highway 101 in Leucadia, said he believes the city has not done enough to ensure customers can safely access businesses while construction continues.
“I feel like (the city) hasn’t done enough to create a safety measure for people to still be able to access those businesses that are just being put through what kind of seems like a project with no end date,” said Harth.
According to Nutter, the city plans to install additional signage directing pedestrians to designated crossings and helping drivers identify where U-turns are permitted.
Most business owners said they also want clearer communication from the city about the project’s timeline and how construction will continue to affect their businesses.
Specifically, Harth said he would like more detailed information about the long-term benefits of the drainage improvements. Harth, who supports the drainage upgrades, said his hotel has flooded during past storms, with as much as 8 to 10 inches of water entering a ground-floor room.
Georgees said a city representative told him last summer that crews would begin trenching and removing asphalt in front of his shop in November 2025. Nearly a year later, he said, that work has still not begun.
“I’m being told that they’re going to board up my building, and I don’t know what that’s going to look like either,” Georgees said.
Georgees said he also remains uncertain how customers will access his business once construction reaches his storefront, since patrons order through a walk-up window at the front of the shop.
Nutter said the city plans to expand its outreach efforts as Segment C enters what officials expect will be the final months of construction. In coordination with Leucadia 101 Mainstreet, the city plans to hold community meetings to provide updates and share information with business owners. The meetings are expected to continue through the project’s completion.
Despite their frustrations, several business owners said they support the project and want to see it finished as quickly as possible.
Once construction is complete, Schade said he hopes the city will host a community celebration to help encourage customers back to the area.
“I would like to see a clear path to the end of the game,” Schade said.
