Coronado has shared a symbiotic relationship with Navy personnel since the commissioning of an air station early in the 20th century and the opening of an amphibious base during the Second World War. The city of Coronado supports close to 23,000 residents, a population that fluctuates due to its nature as a tourist destination.
Likewise, the naval station and amphibious base employ over 36,000 military and civilian personnel at any given time. With the median home price at $3.1 million in Coronado, most — if not all — military members and civilians commute from across San Diego County over the Coronado Bridge.
The boost in population becomes palpable Monday through Friday, but it turns unbearable when the rush to get home happens at four o’clock. From that point on gridlock brings 4th Street to a teeth-grinding halt as Naval Air Station traffic gets injected into the amphibious base’s traffic from Orange Avenue.
All efforts to evacuate the island become futile as bewildered tourists in the summer season mix with locals. Traffic at the worst of times stretches into the night, creating a horrid concoction of stress, noise pollution and vehicle exhaust. This has been going on for years and is not beneficial to anyone involved.
One solution is to open Coronado to more housing to reduce commuting, but this idea is soundly met with venom at City Hall by the grumpiest of islanders. The ferry works fine for those living within the downtown core of San Diego, but the logistics do not work well for families. 4th Street is impossible to widen as it would take away from sidewalks, and an already starved inventory of street parking. And, alas, keep dreaming about that trolley.
The best and most viable solution is to tear down the traffic signal at the heart of the problem where the traffic bottleneck is at its worst: 4th Street and Orange Avenue.
4th Street is one-way with three lanes and offers a straight shot for drivers exiting the naval air facility and heading for the Coronado Bridge. Orange Avenue is a split four-lane road with a grass median that morphs out of Silver Strand Boulevard, and weaves through Coronado’s downtown area, before reaching 4th Street, where most drivers need to turn right to get onto the bridge.
The traffic signal at this intersection should be replaced with a roundabout. Roundabouts are circular intersections with a counterclockwise traffic flow that would require entering drivers to yield to oncoming vehicles. A roundabout would smooth traffic, reducing severe collisions along with inefficient idling.
It would also cut down on the known speeding issues on 4th Street. Pedestrian safety would be improved because a roundabout reduces crossing distances, and allows drivers to watch for pedestrians from only one direction, decreasing accidents, injuries and fatalities.
But despite these major upsides, roundabouts do not come cheap or easy. Comparable roundabout projects of similar magnitude in California suggest a cost of roughly $15 million. And during construction the traffic congestion would get worse. To justify this project, local officials at a minimum must float the idea of raising taxes and issuing bonds, which is not a popular idea in an already tax-stressed California.
Nevertheless, local officials should muster the political willpower to genuinely consider a roundabout for 4th Street and Orange Avenue. Islanders, tourists, military personnel and civilians alike would benefit immensely from this boost in quality of life.
Kaleb Dan Mantela is a San Diego County resident and a Coronado commuter who serves in the Navy.
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