McGill’s moving to new Encinitas location

stocked with all the necessary equipment and gear, such as bearings, wheels, trucks, helmets, pads, shoes and clothing.

DESIGN WORK for roundabouts, bike lanes and pedestrian crossings along a portion of Coast Highway 101 in Oceanside will begin this

O’side starts designs for Coast Highway changes

By Samantha Nelson OCEANSIDE — Designs for a new look along a one-mile stretch of Coast Highway in Oceanside are in the works to include lane reductions, bike lanes, roundabouts and pedestrian crossings.

The Oceanside City Council approved a $2 million contract with San Diego consulting firm Kimley Horn and Associates to design a segment of the city's Coast Highway Corridor Project. The design process is expected to begin in spring 2023 and last approximately 18 months.

“The project’s objective is to transform Coast Highway into a vibrant corridor utilizing the livable communities and smart growth principles,” said City Engineer Brian Thomas.

While the city’s goal is to eventually enhance the stretch of Coast Highway through its boundaries, the project’s initial phase will take place along Coast Highway 101 between state Route 76 and Wisconsin Avenue.

Future segments from Harbor Drive to SR 76 and Oceanside Boulevard to the city’s southerly limits could happen with additional funding later.

Plans will include implementing a “road diet” along Coast Highway, reducing the lanes in each direction from two to one separated by a raised median. The plans will also add bicycle lanes, buffers, midblock crosswalks, sidewalk improvements, landscaping and roundabouts at six intersections.

Councilmember Eric Joyce expressed interest in the possibility of adding protected bike lanes.

“Making downtown more bicycle and people-friendly versus car friendly is an exciting prospect,” Joyce said. “It is an equitable action; it can help us meet our climate action goals. I’m looking at South Oceanside, wondering if they’ll see what’s happening and want to be part of it.”

According to Thomas, the project's benefits could include enhanced pedestrian and outdoor dining experiences.

By Steve Puterski ENCINITAS —

After 27 years of providing the community with skateboards along Coast Highway 101, McGill’s Skate Shop is moving to a new location in Encinitas.

The iconic business is in the process of moving from its previous location at 335 South Coast Highway, where it was for nearly three decades, to 140 South Encinitas Boulevard next to Lazy Acres at Moonlight Marketplace.

The vision to change Coast Highway, including the notion of a road diet, began when the City Council adopted the Coast Highway Vision and Strategic Plan in 2009.

In 2013, the council approved the Coast Highway Corridor Study Environmental Impact Report, which identified several alternatives for the project’s design. In 2016, staff selected Alternative 1 as its preferred choice to implement road diets along a 3.5-mile stretch of Coast Highway between Harbor Drive and Eaton Street.

In 2019, the council opted for Alternative 3, which would implement road diet features from Harbor Drive to Morse Street. The plan would keep two lanes in each direction from Morse Street to the southerly city limits but would include streetscape features such as mid-block crosswalks and landscaping.

To help pay for the design phase, the city is taking $1.8 million for the city’s thoroughfare and signal fund after money was freed up from the College Boulevard Bridge Cantilever Project, now funded by the North River Farms developer.

Mayor Esther Sanchez voiced concerns about potential impacts on bus routes along Coast Highway and hoped for better protection for bicyclists.

City Manager Jonathan Borrego said staff is working with the North County Transit District to not adversely impact current bus routes. Borrego also noted the plans would include bus turnouts to allow buses to merge safely and avoid blocking traffic lanes.

Joan Bockman, a resident who lives near Coast Highway, hopes to see the city add even more roundabouts and other ways to dissuade Interstate 5 traffic from using Coast Highway as an alternative route through Oceanside.

“It’s not I-5 West, and we want it to stop being I-5 West,” Bockman said. “I urge approval of this, and someday I would like to get us to slow and continuous movement through the entire downtown area with no stops.”

McGill's will remain available to customers at its original location until the new storefront opens in late February or early March,

The shop is owned by skateboarder Mike McGill, inventor of the McTwist (a 540-degree aerial rotation grabbing mute style) and longtime member of the Bones Brigade.

McGill told The Coast News the move was made due to increasing rents along Coast Highway 101.

Also, since the skate shop doesn’t rely on walkins, McGill said relocating made financial sense.

“My new shop will be almost the same size as the retail space I have now, but I don’t need all the office space as I did before when I distributed stuff,” McGill said. “We’re looking forward to modernizing the store and making all the skate-related displays. With the help of some of my skate friends in the trade industry, they’ve been helping me the last month designing and building stuff.

“It’s really exciting, and I’m looking forward to the new store opening at the end of February with a grand opening in midMarch.”

McGill said he loves Encinitas and looks forward to continuing to serve the community by promoting the Magdalena Ecke Family YMCA Skate Park and other free skate parks worldwide.

McGill’s Skate Shop offers roughly 600 boards, including minis, longboards, street, vert, pool and vintage boards, including 10-inch-by-30-inch Powell Peralta boards McGill used to ride in the ’80s.

The shop is also

The Bones Brigade, arguably the most influential group of skateboarders in the world, consisted of Encinitas residents McGill and Tony Hawk, along with Rodney Mullen, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Tommy Guerrero and Stacy Peralta.

For 10 years, the industry-changing cohort broke new ground with tricks and skateboard movies, including one of their most popular videos, “The Search for Animal Chin.”

The group’s success even led to Hollywood, including many of them playing the roles of skateboarders in the “Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol.”

In 1989, McGill and Mullen were both stunt doubles for Christian Slater in the skateboarding film, “Gleaming the Cube.”