Rose Creek Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge Design Near Completion

The San Diego County Bicycle Coalition (SDCBC) received a grant from the

Bicyclists on the Rose Canyon Bicycle Path.

California State Coastal Conservancy to design a pedestrian and bicycle bridge over Rose Creek at the confluence where Rose and San Clemente Creeks meet. Drivers know this area as the intersection of I-5 and SR-52. This connection was one of the recommendations of the Rose Creek Watershed Opportunities Assessment 2.5.5: Creating Safe and Legal Railroad Crossings. The bridge complements improvements to the Rose Creek Bikeway as discussed in the article below.

There are no legal or safe railroad crossings in the watershed. Pedestrians and cyclists currently cross the tracks and creek at the confluence but it is extremely dangerous. The construction of the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project will eliminate this key crossing which connects San Clemente and Rose canyons to the Rose Canyon Bicycle Path, making a bridge connection here even more critical.

The SDCBC hired an engineering design firm to create a bridge that could fit into this location without affecting the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project or the highways. The bridge design is nearly complete. The SDCBC is currently seeking funding to construct the bridge. 

 

The plans and engineering to construct the Rose Creek Bikeway are about one-third

Map of the Rose  Creek Bikeway.  Click to enlarge.

complete. The Rose Creek Bikeway is being designed by the San Diego Association of Governments as a shared use path for people riding bikes and people walking along Rose Creek in its southern reach, and two-way protected bike lanes along the west side of Santa Fe Street in its northern reach. Enhancements to bicycle paths were suggested in the Rose Creek Watershed Opportunities Assessment in Recommendation 2.5.3: Creating Regional Recreational Connections.

 

At the same time as plans are being drawn, the environmental studies are being finished and the draft environmental document is being prepared for the public review and comment period, which is anticipated to be in spring of 2015. An open house showcasing the design is planned around that time to coincide with the beginning of the environmental document public review and comment period.

 

The next steps after completing the environmental process and design will be to collect bids for constructing the project and, finally, to begin building the project. It is anticipated that construction will begin in 2016. Please direct any questions to Chris Carterette, Project Manager.

Friends of Rose Canyon's Sense of Wonder Project is named after a quote from pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson: "If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder... he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world we live in".

 With funding from San Diego Gas & Electric's Environmental Champions Grant, we are proud to report that 1,229 K-12 students, along with 295 teachers, parents and grandparents came on our Nature Explorations this past year. Students were divided into groups of 4-5 kids, each group with a nature guide. The are reminded that they are all explorers, and that kids often discover things the guides miss. The kids, teachers and parents all learn a lot about the natural world, and we all have

fun. Projects like this are suggested in the Rose Creek Watershed Opportunities Assessment in Recommendation 2.2.7: Recommendations for Environmental Education.

Curie Elementary students find an old Bushtit nest. These amazing nests are like a long sock.  They hang from a branch, with the babies in the bottom so the adult birds can leave their chicks safe  while they go hunt for food.

Students from Doyle Elementary wonder what is in the water, and find water striders, tadpoles, tree frogs, and crayfish. They have even seen a California kingsnake  (beautiful and non-venomous).

Friends of Mission Bay Marshes Volunteer Roy Little and Muralist Celeste Byers.

A beautiful new mural has been created on the research trailer at the Kendall Frost Mission Bay Marsh Reserve. The painting is the handiwork of muralist Celeste Byers and the vision of long-time Friends of Mission Bay Marshes volunteer, Roy Little.

The mural depicts plants and wildlife native to the marsh, and portraits of some of the marsh's notable supporters - including Roy. The trailer is owned by UC San Diego's Natural Reserve System. For quite some time, Roy had been hearing requests to aesthetically beautify the trailer.  He also saw this as an opportunity to get the public's attention and garner interest in this important ecosystem.  "We all wanted to make the trailer look more attractive and I wanted something that would make passers-by stop, look, and ask, as an initial step in getting educated and involved in the marsh."

 

If Celeste is any indication, the mural is already accomplishing Roy's hopes.  After completing it she said, "I feel really grateful for participating in the project because I didn't know the marsh existed beforehand.  I didn't even know much about what services marshes provide - that they are nurseries for fish and birds, and are home to so many creatures...I got to know it better and learned a lot."

 

Come see the mural for yourself and hopefully you, too, will be inspired!

 Would a clapper rail by any other name still tweet as sweet?  Well...yes, it would.

As it turns out, the San Diego salt marsh bird formerly known as the light-footed clapper rail (Rallus obsoletus levipes) is not a clapper rail at all. When Occidental College zoologist James Maley examined the DNA of "big rails," (birds traditionally classified as clapper rails and king rails), he found that California clapper rails are not actually clapper rails. Instead, they are their own, totally distinct species.

 As a result, the American Ornithologists' Union recently announced that California clapper rails, including San Diego's own light-footed clapper rail subspecies, have been reclassified as Ridgway's rail. The "new" species is named after Robert Ridgway, a founding member of the American Ornithologists' Union, and the first to identify the species for science in the late 1800s. Despite the new common name, Ridgway's rail's scientific name will remain unchanged.

The newly named Ridway's rail  at Kendall Frost Marsh.  Photo by Roy Little.

 How does this affect the bird's conservation?  The name may have changed but the endangered status hasn't.  Birder checklists, informational brochures, books, and signs will need to be updated, and the name change may cause some initial confusion. The population is still precipitously plummeting due to habitat loss and degradation as a result of agricultural, industrial, and residential development, pollution, and predation by invasive species.  You can help save the Ridgway's rails by joining us in protecting San Diego marshes and their watersheds.

Friends of Rose Creek

The Rose Creek Bicycle Path  in Pacific Beach.

, the community group dedicated to preserving and enhancing Lower Rose Creek in Pacific Beach, is celebrating its 10 Year Anniversary! Their Anniversary Party and Bird Watching Bingo Tournament will take place on Saturday, December 6th at the Rose Creek Cottage from 9 AM - Noon. All Rose Creek fans are invited! The new short film on Rose Creek will be shown, along with information about the group's many accomplishments and new projects underway. Drinks and pastries will be served. Click here for more information and to RSVP. We hope to see you there!

After three dry winters and record-breaking heat in 2014, California's water supply situation is becoming more serious every day. Mandatory water conserving measures are in place throughout the region in response to worsening drought conditions and the need to save storage reserves for 2015.

Mandatory restrictions are effective November 1, 2014 within the Rose Creek Watershed (City of San Diego). Visit the newly updated Community Links section of our website for a list of water conservation resources to help you find strategies, tools and rebates to conserve water at your home or business. Conserving water is critical to preserving our drinking water supply, and also protects our watershed by reducing urban runoff that pollutes our creeks, marshes and beaches.

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