Take Action: URGENT!

Federal Grant Deadline is June 8! Please take action today!

The City of Encinitas has applied to the Federal Railroad Administration for $5.2 million to build at-grade crossings at Grandview and Phoebe Streets. If this grant is awarded, it locks in permanent horn noise and infrastructure that will likely need to be rebuilt when SANDAG adds a second rail track through Leucadia.

The deadline to oppose this grant is Sunday, June 8, 2026. There are 5 critical steps you can take below.

Step 1 — Send an Opposition Letter to the FRA (5 minutes)

Download the template opposition letter, add your name and address, and email it to:

FSP program FRA-NOFO-Support@dot.gov, david.fink@dot.gov, steven.bradbury@dot.gov, Deborah.Kobrin@dot.gov

Subject line: Technical Evaluation and Project Merit Opposition to City of Encinitas Grant Applications

CRISI Program (ID: FR-CRS-26-001) & FSP Program

Download Opposition Letter Template

Add one or two sentences in your own words — how long you have lived through construction on the 101, how train horn noise affects your family, why you want a real solution not a temporary one. Personalized letters carry more weight than form letters.

Step 2 — Contact Rep. Mike Levin’s Office (2 minutes)

Ask his office to request that the FRA review whether this application conflicts with SANDAG’s active double-track construction before any award is made.

Submit through: levin.house.gov/contact
Or call: 760-599-5000 (Oceanside district office)

Download Levin Letter Template

Step 3 — Sign the Petition

Sign the petition if you haven’t already and share it and this page with your neighbors

Sign the Petition

Step 4 — Can’t Write? Go On Record.

Email bettercrossingsleucadia@gmail.com with your name and address to be added as a signatory to our master opposition letter going directly to Secretary Duffy — or simply to be counted among residents demanding grade-separated crossings.

Step 5 – Tweet at Secretary Duffy (1 minute)

Copy and paste this tweet and send it directly to the Secretary of Transportation:

@SeanDuffyWI Encinitas CA is seeking $5.2M in federal RCE funds for at-grade rail crossings — their own state filing admits the crossings conflict with SANDAG’s active double-track construction. They’ll need to be torn up in 5 years. Classic government waste. Please deny. #DOGE

Why We Oppose This Grant

648 horn blasts per day. Four 92–110 decibel blasts per train, 54 trains daily, combined with the existing Leucadia Boulevard crossing. Day and night. Trains are projected to double by 2035.

No quiet zone is possible here. A horn waiver north of Leucadia Boulevard requires the City of Carlsbad’s cooperation — and Carlsbad is actively opposed.

The city used SANDAG’s double-track plans to block a better solution — then applied for federal money anyway. In its own CPUC filing, the city said underpasses at Grandview and Phoebe weren’t possible because of SANDAG’s planned double-track expansion. Then it applied for $5.2M in federal money for at-grade crossings in the same corridor.

The wayside horn fallback doesn’t work. Edmonds, Washington paid $400,000 for wayside horns. The manufacturer went out of business. When they fail, trains revert to full 110-decibel locomotive horns. Edmonds is now considering removing them entirely.

Grade-separated crossings are safer. 74% of all rail trespassing casualties occur within 1,000 feet of an existing at-grade crossing. Grade-separated crossings reduce train-pedestrian strikes by 93%.

Five years of construction — and a third round to come. Streetscape has been active since 2021. At-grade crossings mean another construction cycle, followed by a third when SANDAG’s double-track forces a rebuild.

Read the Full Position Paper

Read the Public Health Brief by Natalie Muth, MD, MPH

Send a letter to city council or comment

Send to all addresses to let city council know your position.

CityClerk@encinitasca.gov

Bruce Ehlers – Mayor behlers@encinitasca.gov

Luke Shaffer, D1 Council – Leucadia
lshaffer@encinitasca.gov

Jim O’Hara, Deputy Mayor johara@encinitasca.gov

Jennifer Campbell, City Manager jcampbell@encinitasca.gov

Download Sample Letter

Attend a City Council Meeting

Speaking out for health and safely helps our greater community.
Located at 505 S. Vulcan Ave. (usually Wednesdays at 6 p.m.)

Send an Email

For those unable to attend, comments can be emailed to the City Clerk CityClerk@encinitasca.gov by 4pm the day of the meeting, which will be shared with the council and entered into the public record.

Speak in Person

Arrive Early: The council typically meets on the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays of each month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall Council Chambers.

Fill Out a Slip: Pick up a “pink” speaker slip at the entrance or from the City Clerk, fill it out, and submit it before the agenda item begins.

If your comment is not on the agenda use a “white” speaker slip.
Wait for Your Turn: The Mayor will call you to the podium to speak for 1-3 minutes depending on the number of speakers.

Better Crossings Position Paper

Join the Better Crossings Mailing List

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