City Plans to Enhance Camino Capistrano Median at Southern San Juan Limits

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The City of San Juan Capistrano recently spruced up the median at the intersection of Del Obispo Street and Old Mission Road by adding greenery to it.

City officials are now looking at similar enhancements on Camino Capistrano at the city’s southern limits, near Costco and the Dana Point border.

The City Council unanimously approved such measures as recommended by staff on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

The Del Obispo/Old Mission Road intersection was recently beautified since it is considered a “gateway” entrance point into the city, and city staff want to beautify the Camino Capistrano corridor since that section is also considered an access point into San Juan.

“The work would include new brick pavers, drought-tolerant plantings and enhanced irrigation,” Public Works Director Tom Toman said. “The five existing eucalyptus trees that are in the medians right now would remain.”

The modification would be done by Brightview Landscaping, the city’s regular landscape contractor, who also handled the Old Mission Road intersection beautification.

“Brightview’s proposal for the work is $70,000,” Toman said. “Including administrative and project management costs, staff anticipates the total cost to be about $100,000.”

The Camino Capistrano median improvements are also being done in conjunction with a citywide street pavement rehabilitation project, which recently began on Camino Capistrano and will soon expand to neighborhood streets. Funds set aside for the rehabilitation project are sufficient to cover the proposed median enhancement.

Newly elected Councilmember John Campbell said he was “certainly” in favor of the proposed improvements.

“I’ve had the incredible opportunity to knock on a lot of doors in the last few months and, several times constituents have mentioned the condition of our streets, as far as the physical appearance and their dissatisfaction, as far as that everything looks worn out and needing attention,” Campbell said.

Mayor Howard Hart and Councilmember Troy Bourne also mentioned wanting to eventually place welcome signs at the gateway points specifying when motorists enter San Juan, a matter city staff will research.