Anyone who has ever driven down the Hillcrest corridor and searched for a parking space, waited for bus service or worried about crossing the street, knows it can be a nightmare during rush hour.

This year, the city of San Diego and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) will be developing alternatives to improve mobility with its Hillcrest Corridor Mobility Plan (HCMP), and organizers hope to enlist the help of area residents.

The public outreach component of the project recently held its first workshop at St. Paul’s Church, and approximately 30 people attended the workshop introducing community members to the project.

“This is part of an ongoing effort hoped to improve travel modes in the Uptown Community,” said Marlon Pangilinan, senior planner for the City Planning and Community Investment Department. “A team of consultants from RBF Consulting Firm is analyzing past concepts, in addition to new data and suggestions from public input, and making suggestions to improve transit through the corridors.”

In 2005, SANDAG created a final report on the Traffic Calming Study for Fourth, Fifth and Sixth avenues. It embodied strategies to calm traffic, locate pedestrian safety measures, and improve parking and public transit concepts along these corridors. Planners are now seeking additional information to improve the concepts further.

“We are concerned about safety hazards to both drivers and pedestrians, and want to make the corridors as safe as possible for all residents,” said Dawn Wilson, of RBF Consulting who presented at the workshop. “Some suggestions that are being proposed are short-term parking at Hawthorne and Sixth avenues, curb extensions so that pedestrians have a shorter distance to walk while crossing the street, and more crosswalks.”

Participants at the workshop were organized into small groups to discuss the impacts and potential trade-offs of suggestions. Large maps were located around the room to identify new or revised traffic-calming ideas. Some suggestions included exclusive bus rapid-transit lanes, adding and removing bus stops at various locations, and even striped medians with left-turn pockets along Sixth Avenue.

“One of the ideas that the planners are proposing is angled parking that motorists would back into along Sixth Avenue near Balboa Park,” said Rich Gorin, a Hillcrest resident for the past five years. “That was something I suggested in the past study, and I’m glad to see that they are actually listening to our ideas and input.”

Such suggestions are being looked at for feasibility, cost and what other impacts might occur, organizers said.

“In no way is this concept plan something that is set in stone. It is merely a starting point from which public input and technical analysis can create a more refined plan, alternatives and recommendations within the scope of the project,” Pangilinan said, noting that planners are also listening to concerns residents have.

Residents said they don’t want to lose the elegance of the area and quaint, park-like feel to flashing traffic and crosswalk signals.

“The area has changed so much since it was originally planned years ago, back in the days when there were horse-drawn carriages and buggies,” said Carol Schultz, a resident and executive director of Uptown Planners. “The goal with the plan will bring less congestion and allow residents to better maneuver around the area, but still keep the beauty.”

The HCMP will allow residents many opportunities to be involved in the project, including walks around the neighborhood for residents who were not able to participate in the kick-off workshop. There will also be the Mobility Design Workshop, scheduled for Saturday, June 23. This event is intended to bring interested residents and other stakeholders together to evaluate key concepts and then engage in hands-on mapping and designing of pedestrian, bicycle, transit and other improvements.

The HCMP, which is being funded through a $400,000 state grant, will wrap up in November with an open house to share the final plan, which will then be sent to City Council for consideration.

For more information about the HCMP, call 619-235-5293 or visit www.hillcrestmobilityplan.info.