Traffic

Many of these tournaments involve tens of thousands of attendees and thousands of cars, despite the Grant Deed restrictions against “large assemblages of people and automobiles.” Many weekends the road is littered with signs proclaiming “Event this weekend. Choose Alternate Route.” Traffic is gridlock. At times it is a threat to public safety as emergency vehicles cannot get through. The lack of cooperation in coordinating events and planning for traffic control measures was detailed in this letter from the 22nd DAA Board (which manages the Del Mar fairgrounds and Horsepark) to the Mayor earlier this year.

Accidents occur, as speeding parents race to drop off their kids, make illegal u-turns, and sometimes even let their kids out on El Camino Real to dodge across the traffic rather than wait in the backup.

In August, two accidents occurred in about a week on Via de la Valle, just outside the entrance to Surf Cup. One accident involved a vehicle striking one of the large traffic signs that Surf Cup has placed along the road. The heavy sign was thrown onto the side of the road, sparking a small brush fire on the hillside. These signs are routinely placed along the roadway for several days leading up to and after events at the fields, and are particularly difficult to see at night, posing a serious traffic hazard. In addition, dozens of small “No Parking” signs are littered up and down both sides of the road creating additional hazards as well as visual blight.