All posts by Michael F Ballard

Michael F Ballard is the author and administrator of the Southern California Regional Rocks and Roads website, https://socalregion.com, since 1995. I have been studying the geology and highway history throughout southern California for most of my life. I am also the President of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization. Founder of the Historic Highway 99 Association of California, https://historic99.org .
Advocacy, Bicycling, Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, San Diego, San Diego County

San Diego Slow Streets

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Many cities throughout the US have implemented a “slow streets” program to help make it easier for people to get out and exercise during this crisis. In San Diego, this has taken on the form of a “light” closure of some roadways. This means that the roadways aren’t closed entirely to motor vehicles, but through traffic is discouraged by the use of signs and barricades at various intersections. In doing so, bicyclists and pedestrians are given more room on the street.

I strongly encourage everyone to check these out in your city. If you think the program should be expanded, let them know! I know the ones here in San Diego have been helpful. We’d love to hear your thoughts as well.

For the City of San Diego:

https://www.sandiego.gov/tsw/programs/slow-streets-program

For the City of Los Angeles:

http://ladot.lacity.org/coronavirus/apply-slow-street-your-neighborhood

Website News

Site Problems – Corrected for now

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Well, it looks like my site was at least partially hacked this morning. As a result, the site was down for an extended period. There hasn’t been any loss of data, but it was quite annoying to deal with. I have also taken additional measures to ensure it doesn’t happen again, so hopefully it doesn’t.

California, Dam

Dams of California

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A while back, I found a really interesting presentation on dams throughout California. Everything from records to failures is covered. I encourage all interested to check it out.

https://web.mst.edu/~rogersda/dams_of_ca/index.htm

History, Railroads, San Diego, San Diego County, San Diego Electric Railway, University Heights

San Diego Electric Railway #11 line at El Cajon Blvd

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Recent utility work on Park Blvd has indirectly revealed that the tracks for the former SDERy #11 line (Downtown to Kensington via Park and Adams) are still buried beneath Park Blvd, at least at El Cajon Blvd. Looking at video from 1970 of Park Blvd wasn’t really helpful in spotting the tracks as they seem to have been paved over quite well even back then.

1970 video showing Park Blvd from the San Diego City Clerk

However, despite not being physically uncovered, their presence is still made known. Crews, marking various services underneath the roadway, also marked “Railroad Tracks” on Park Blvd. Two sets in fact, which is pretty cool. Maybe they’ll be unearthed in the near future.

Railroad Tracks marked at the crosswalk at Park / El Cajon / Normal
Looking southerly on Park showing both sets of markings
Updates, Website News

General Updates – May 2020

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The last couple of months have definitely been interesting in many ways. I had planned to hold a Clean Up The Ridge Route event this weekend, but those plans were delayed. I had hoped to travel a bit more, including flying out to Phoenix to be at my husband’s graduation ceremony. Well… as the whole planet is aware, things have gone awry in many ways. Some of them have been a bit more positive on my end at least. Instead of coming home after graduation, my husband came home in early April and completed his schooling online. Now, he has a Master’s in Computer Engineering. I have been working at home as well, which has been somewhat nice. I say somewhat, as it was nice to at least get out more often. I can’t beat the commute though!

The one thing this whole situation has allowed me to do has been to get some much needed work and updates done to this site. I’ve been adding photos, maps, and some pages to my US 6, US 99, and Ridge Route tours. The Grapevine Canyon page on the US 99 tour has had quite a bit added to it. I’ve also added quite a few photos to my Southern California Highways pages. My geology pages have also been getting a bit of attention. This situation has given me a bit more opportunity to go through my archives in a bit more detail and add them to the site when possible. In time, I plan to add a lot more maps to the site overall, as it is one thing it is really lacking.

I did want to say that this situation, while frustrating at times, is temporary. We may not go back to whatever we called normal for some time, but do we really want to? This is an opportunity to make some real and positive changes to how we handle so many things. If nothing else, it has taught us that we really need to upgrade our digital infrastructure. I do look forward to returning to some level of normalcy, such as a monthly trip over the Ridge Route, going to wineries, and visiting the Wisteria Candy Cottage for some of the best chocolates and fudge in San Diego County. All will need our support and more after this is over. If you have a favorite business that is presently closed, be sure to tell them via e-mail or phone how you feel. They need to hear it!