San Diego
County Sign Route S21

[Click here for a key to the symbols used. Some county routes were constructed with federal funds. These routes are indicated as FAP (Federal Aid Primary), FAU (Federal Aid Urban), or FAS (Federal Aid Secondary). If no funding source is shown, no federal funds were used. Note that while some segments seem to have the same attributes, they may differ in the county-local road number assigned to the segment, or in the Caltrans Map Sheet number.]

Routing

1. Genesee Avenue in San Diego from I-5 to N Torrey Pines Road (FAU, 0.80 mi)

2. Torrey Pines Road from Genesee Avenue to the Del Mar city limits (FAU, 3.98 mi)

3. Camino Del Mar in Del Mar from the Del Mar city limits to Jimmy Durante Blvd (FAU, 1.84 mi)

4. Camino Del Mar in Del Mar from Jimmy Durante Blvd to the Del Mar city limits (1.00 mi)

5. Old Highway 101 / Coast Highway 101 from the Del Mar city limits to the Carlsbad city limits (FAU, 8.10 mi)

   Status

   In February 2017, it was reported that there is a growing movement to transform former US 101 (Coast Highway) in North San Diego County into something more bicycle and pedestrian friendly. From Del Mar to Oceanside, cities are looking to slow traffic, widen bike lanes and implement other changes that encourage people to get out of their cars and use alternate forms of transportation. Solana Beach finished an overhaul its portion of Coast Highway in 2013, completing a $7 million project that converted the road to narrower lanes with wide sidewalks, gathering spaces and buffered bike lanes. Encinitas made changes in Leucadia, reducing traffic lanes and adding “sharrows” — large white markers painted on the asphalt — to remind drivers to slow down and share the lane. Del Mar and Oceanside are studying similar changes, hoping to better accommodate bicyclists and pedestrians and create a more vibrant environment for businesses and residents along the coast. However, there are (as they say) bumps in the road. After a re-striping pilot program was launched in 2016 in Oceanside — reducing parts of Coast Highway from two to four lanes, and adding wider bike lanes — more than 400 people signed a petition against the changes. Del Mar is another town where the idea has run into trouble. City planners have proposed reducing northbound Camino del Mar — the name for Coast Highway in that city — from two lanes to one between Carmel Valley Road and Fourth Street. That prompted a letter-writing campaign from residents early this year. A few supported the plan, but most said the narrower road would worsen congestion and force more traffic onto the parallel residential street of Stratford Court. A back-up freeway isn’t the vision that many city planners have for the historic road. Instead of escorting drivers out of town, they see the coastal route as a way to invite people in, to stop and shop, ride bicycles, enjoy the beach, and maybe meet some new people or old friends. Leaders of the region’s robust cycling community say slowing traffic and improving bike lanes along former US 101 will ultimately improve the quality of life for all.
   (Source: San Diego U-T, 2/17/2017)

   In November 2020, it was reported that Carlsbad Boulevard, the nearly seven-mile stretch of road also known as Old Highway 101 through Carlsbad, is about to get a third designation — U.S. Bicycle Route 95. The recognition would make Carlsbad Boulevard part of a national network of routes intended to facilitate interstate travel by bicycle on roads and highways identified as suitable for cycling. Carlsbad will be the last city in San Diego County to approve the designation. About 75 percent of the 1,000-mile route has been established from the California-Oregon border to the U.S. border with Mexico. Eventually, plans call for U.S. Bicycle Route 95 to extend to the Canadian border. East-West routes in the works include U.S. Bicycle Route 50 from San Francisco through South Lake Tahoe and on through Nevada and Utah, and Bicycle Route 66, which goes from Los Angeles through parts of Arizona and New Mexico. The American Association of State Highways and Transportation Officials created the U.S. Bicycle Route System in the early 1980s. So far there are designated bicycle routes in 24 states, used for cross-country travel, regional touring and commuting. Cities that agree to the designation are not required to take any additional action. No additional route markings, such as signs or bike lane markings, are required. More information on the U.S. Bicycle Route system may be found at the Adventure Cycling Association, Caltrans, 
   (Source: San Diego Union Tribune, 11/16/2020)

   In April 2024, it was reported that the city of Carlsbad's Beach Preservation Commission voted unanimously to recommend realigning a one-mile stretch of the coastal former US 101, also known as Carlsbad Boulevard (County Sign Route S21), in an all-encompassing approach referred to as “retreat now.” The alternative would have been a phased approach where changes would be made to the impacted roadway, which runs from Manzano Drive in the north to Island Way in the south, incrementally over a 96-year period. The southern tip of former US 101 has a long history of erosion and instability, particularly near Las Encinas Creek. City officials say events like high surf or coastal storms have often rendered the roadway inaccessible due to flooding. Carlsbad officials have looked to solve this coastal overflow by doing emergency work under temporary permits from the state’s Coastal Commission, such as extending the rock barriers that line the roadway — a step the city has taken at least twice since 2015. As a condition of these temporary permits, however, the state instructed Carlsbad to seek a more permanent solution. That’s where the realignment project comes in. According to city documents, the realignment project includes two main components: a guide for how the road could be moved from the coastline, and an adaptive management plan to put those changes into motion. Four segments of the southbound side of the roadway — including biking and walking paths — will be re-routed into a two-lane street with several roundabouts. The project would also allow for habitat restoration along the roadway in the areas where the southbound plan is currently routed.
   (Source: Fox 5 San Diego, 4/8/2024)

6. Carlsbad Blvd in Carlsbad from the Carlsbad city limits to the Oceanside city limits (FAU, 6.17 mi)

7. Coast Highway (formerly Hill Street) in Oceanside from the Oceanside city limits to I-5 (FAU, 2.85 mi)

History and Signage Information

Status

Other WWW Links

Acronyms and Explanations:

• "LRN" refers to the Pre-1964 Legislative Route Number. "US" refers to a US Shield signed route. "I" refers to an Eisenhower Interstate signed route. "Route" usually indicates a state shield signed route, but said route may be signed as US or I.
• Previous Federal Aid (pre-1992) categories: Federal Aid Interstate (FAI); Federal Aid Primary (FAP); Federal Aid Urban (FAU); and Federal Aid Secondary (FAS). Current Functional Classifications (used for aid purposes): Principal Arterial (PA); Minor Arterial (MA); Collector (Col); Rural Minor Collector/Local Road (RMC/LR). Note that ISTEA repealed the previous Federal-Aid System, effective in 1992, and established the functional classification system for all public roads.
• Other frequently used terms: California Transportation Commission (Commission or CTC), California Department of Transportation (Department or Caltrans), Regional Improvement Program (RIP), Interregional Improvement Program (IIP), State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP), State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP), Traffic Congestion Relief Program (TCRP), Clean Air and Transportation Improvement Act of 1990 (Proposition 116), High Speed Passenger Train Bond Program (Proposition 1A), Highway Safety, Traffic Reduction, Air Quality, and Port Security Bond Act of 2006 (Proposition 1B), Corridor Mobility Improvement Account (CMIA), State Route 99 Bond Program (RTE or SR 99), Local Bridge Seismic Retrofit Account (LBSRA), Trade Corridors Improvement Fund (TCIF), Highway-Railroad Crossing Safety Account (HRCSA), State-Local Partnership Program (SLPP), Environmental Phase (PA&ED), Design Phase (PS&E), Right of Way (R/W), Fiscal Year (FY), Active Transportation Program (ATP), Trade Corridor Enhancement Program (TCEP), Local Partnership Program (LPP), Local Streets and Roads Program (LSRP), Solutions for Congested Corridors Program (SCCP).

CR S20 CR S22

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Maintained by: Daniel P. Faigin <webmaster@cahighways.org>.