Business & Tech

Business Group Seeks State Grant to Improve Palm Avenue-State Route 75

Palm Avenue needs to see some changes in order to capitalize on economic opportunities the highway holds as the gateway to South County beaches, the SCEDC said.

The South County Economic Development Council has applied for a grant which could award up to $300,000 for projects to improve Palm Avenue from Interstate 5 west to Imperial Beach city limits.

"Because when I look down Palm Avenue I see no sense of place there," said Cindy Gompper Graves, the SCEDC's executive director.

The application was submitted to the City of San Diego Planning Division first for approval, but it is a CalTrans Commmunity-Based Transportation Planning grant since Palm Avenue is also a highway.

"Palm Avenue is a gateway to South County beaches," Graves said. "And if it is the gateway to South County beaches, let's treat it as such."

According to the grant application, Palm Avenue outside Imperial Beach and west of Interstate 5 lacks identity and cohesion.

Fast-moving cars and other parts of the streets construction make it unfriendly to pedestrian traffic. The grant also calls current Palm Avenue an "auto-oriented street that no longer supports the type of uses that it was originally designed to serve."

Improvements to make the street more welcoming to foot traffic could provide a Main Street feel and spur economic growth, the application said.

"At the end of the day, we're infusing a lot of money all over the county and we need to do that in places that really need it like this part of Palm Avenue," Graves said. "There are some great things going on the west side of Palm Avenue and we need to carry that back through to I-5, and this will give us an opportunity to do that."

Ultimately, the Palm Avenue Revitalization project, would seek to "provide a blueprint for transformation of Palm Avenue from a six-lane highway into a vibrant mixed-use corridor that encourages investment, promotes economic development and provide for vehicle, pedestrian, and bicyclist-friendly transportation in a more livable and sustainable manner."

The mixed residential-commerical corridor described comes as the City of Imperial Beach pushes for final approval of changes to its zoning laws for mixed-use on Palm Avenue.

The grant application also follows SCEDC supported moves to establish a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore economic opportunity at Pond 20 between the City of San Diego, City of Imperial Beach and Port of San Diego. Pond 20 is a 95-acre plot of undeveloped land next to westbound State Route 75.

Depending on what comes from MOU talks, the grant may also support providing more access to Pond 20, the application said.

Specific suggestions for improvements would come from a study funded by the grant funds but could include improved bike lanes, street medians and more trees.

Supporters of the application include the City of Imperial Beach.

The Unified Port of San Diego has agreed to provide matching funds if the application is approved.

Applications are due to CalTrans by April 2.


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