Camino De Collado is a block-long street off of La Jolla Shores Drive with stunning views of the Pacific. There are nearby access points to the beach below, making it a popular place to park for surfers and beachgoers. But someone has tried to eliminate half of the parking spaces on the street by painting the entire curb on the north side red.
“It’s really a pretty hateful act that says something to the effect that elite coastal homeowners have more of a right to access the beaches than the general public,” said Kristin Brinner, a volunteer with the Surfrider Foundation. Much of Brinner's work involves the issue of beach access.
“Not only is it just extremely irritating, it’s a huge waste of city resources that they have to come out here and paint it back and then all it takes is one entitled person that feels like they have the right to do this and take away other people’s access to the public beaches,” Brinner said.
KPBS knocked on several doors of homes on Camino De Collado, but no one wanted to talk about the rogue red curb.
“If these people are painting their curbs red, then that’s clearly unlawful,” said Jim Castle who's been parking on this street and walking down to the ocean to fish for more than 30 years. He said whoever did this should remember that these streets belong to all San Diegans.
“We all pay for the maintenance of the roads. We all pay for emergency services, so it should be equitable and we should all have equal access to the streets for parking.”
On Wednesday, Surfrider Foundation volunteers distributed letters up and down Camino De Collado, gently reminding residents that painting city curbs is illegal. Kristin Brinner said they’ve notified the city and the Coastal Commission about the issue, but remedying the situation will take time.
“They said it can take up to 90-days, which is basically the whole summer and then, you know, it’s one night’s work for someone else to undo that,” Brinner said.
If that someone else ever gets caught, they could face jail time and fines that will be much more costly than a bucket of red paint.
