City of Santee Blog Argues Against Mast Blvd. Connection to Lakeside

Also read: Collinsworth: Turko's Solution Fails to Consider Safety Impacts Elsewhere on Mast Blvd.

A post published at the City of Santee blog, the Santee Review, outlines the city's position on the uncompleted extension of Mast Boulevard into Lakeside, and argues against critics contentions, such as Turko, that a traffic hazard exists on El Nopal because of the Mast Blvd. dead end. 


"Completing Mast Boulevard would offer a convenient route for a few, but it will expose many Santee residents to higher traffic volumes and greater truck traffic."

The blog says that:

• Traffic on El Nopal will remain "regardless of what happens with Mast Boulevard."
• Statistics show that over the last ten years "a majority of accidents on El Nopal were the result of speeding motorists on two sharp curves."
• The sharp curves along Lakeside’s portion of El Nopal, which is governed by the county, would still remain, even if Mast Blvd. was extended.
• The Mast Blvd. connection would increase traffic on the Santee side by an estimated 35 percent and send more heavy truck traffic into residential neighborhoods and past schools.

Van Collinsworth expressed similar opinions about the issue in a recent post on Santee Patch, with further suggestions for solving traffic issues:

"Considering the past mistakes, the best solution is for the County to add traffic calming and enforcement measures to El Nopal that keeps high-speed through traffic volumes to a minimum. Santee should consider similar measures on Mast between Magnolia and Los Ranchitos. The only eastern connection of Mast Boulevard in the future should be for bicycles and pedestrians. "

Read the full story at the Santee Review