Now that she has been prohibited from spray-painting or chalking her “Slow down” messages on the pavement on La Jolla Boulevard, Bird Rock resident Nicole Hadfield has taken to making and distributing stickers with the same exhortation.
In recent weeks, the stickers have been placed on street signs and posts, utility boxes and more throughout the Bird Rock business district. They contain messages such as “Slow down,” “Slow down Bird Rock,” “Slow down La Jolla,” “Slow down, you’re doing fine” and “Speed limit 15 mph.”
Driven by the desire to have a stop sign placed on La Jolla Boulevard at Camino de la Costa, the bike lane painted green to enhance its visibility and the speed limit reduced and made consistent along the length of La Jolla Boulevard through Bird Rock, Hadfield said she’s “not putting the pitchfork down yet.”
“I want to keep the awareness up that people need to slow down,” she told the La Jolla Light. “I’m an artist, so I made a bunch of stickers and put some up and gave them to my friends to distribute. People have taken them down and I’ve gotten some threatening letters, but that doesn’t bother me. I want to get things moving on this.”
Hadfield said she would stop with the stickers and other methods of drawing attention to her message if the city of San Diego conducts a traffic study to determine whether a stop sign is feasible and the speed limit can be reduced.
Earlier this year, Hadfield spray-painted the words “Slow down” on the streets surrounding her home, including La Jolla Boulevard.
The city dispatched crews to cover the paint with slurry or patching. Because of the cost associated with that, Hadfield was arrested on suspicion of felony vandalism.
After her arrest, she switched to writing her message in chalk.
San Diego police Lt. Matt Botkin said last month that the use of chalk “would not qualify as a new crime because it is a temporary medium, as opposed to paint, which is permanent.”
However, Hadfield said, a judge directed that she stop writing on the street, including with chalk.
Some of her chalk drawings in front of her home were power-washed by city crews.
“It doesn’t make sense to me that the city can spend the money on power-washing my chalk away but can’t spend the money to do a traffic study about the speed limit,” she said.
City representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
When she was unable to continue with chalk, Hadfield switched to stickers.
Though she received backlash from some neighbors over the “Slow down” markings on the street, the response to the stickers has been more tepid, she said.
“I have not heard much from Bird Rockers about the stickers and haven’t noticed them,” said Bird Rock Community Council President Joe Terry.
However, he said, “it is illegal to put posters, stickers, etc., on street signs, utility poles, etc. … Damage to traffic signs would be a concern and an unwanted expense if the stickers are on the signs and not just on the poles. The cost of removing the stickers is a concern, even if there is no damage to the traffic signs.”
“Some Bird Rockers were annoyed by the ‘Slow down’ messages painted and chalked on the streets for aesthetic reasons or because they didn’t want to be reminded about their speed,” he added. “There are better ways to deal with this and other traffic issues (e.g., ignoring stop signs and the lack of restrictions on who can operate different types of e-bikes).
“Unfortunately, some are frustrated with what they see as slow and inadequate action by the city and have implemented their own solutions, which can be misguided.”
Bird Rock Maintenance Assessment District Manager Matt Mangano said the MAD, the city and landscape crews remove all illegal signage per the San Diego municipal code and the MAD’s agreement with the city.
Should Hadfield again be approached by law enforcement and told the stickers are vandalism, she might consider other methods such as starting a petition or speaking out at public meetings, she said.
“I want to be involved,” she said. “I want to bring more awareness to the speeding.”
Bird Rock resident Harry Bubbins launched a petition drive in 2022 aiming to have the 35 mph speed limit reduced on La Jolla Boulevard as it winds into Bird Rock.
Bubbins, now president of the La Jolla Community Planning Association, told the Light that the “Slow down” message “speaks to the dangerous conditions that exist from speeding drivers and the widespread local perception of a need to address it.”
