Stacy Silverwood, a retired Captain of the San Diego Fire Rescue Department, sent the following letter to Councilmember Sherri Lightner. The letter expresses his concerns about response times if a large project is built at the One Paseo site. This certainly makes me wonder about adding 23,000 additional cars to our already congested roads! Here's the letter:

Dear Sherri,

First of all, congratulations on a successful campaign. We worked hard for a very good cause! We can only hope that the results of the recent election on a Local, State and National level are indicative of a demand for a more human approach to leadership.

My wife and I had some errands to run this afternoon - post office, library, shopping center, etc. As we left the Del Mar Plaza shopping center on Del Mar Heights Road, I couldn't help but think of two things, First Responder response time and the One Paseo project. You see, it was 3PM and the traffic was backed up west bound on Del Mar Heights Rd. from east of El Camino Real (one block from the both the Fire Station and the Police Station) to I-5. That is over a mile of traffic on a major route of response, stopped. Parked. This was an inconvenience for me this afternoon. It could easily mean the difference between life or death in a medical emergency, or success or failure in fighting a fire. And, of course, the longer it takes to respond to a fire, the more likely it is that a civilian or firefighter will be killed or injured.

Now consider, the area where One Paseo is planned is still a dirt lot. Even if the project is approved at the level it is already permitted for we will face a real challenge. If Kilroy is allowed the variance they expect, to double the size of the project, it will be nothing less than a disaster.

Best regards,

Stacy Silverwood, Captain - Retired
San Diego Fire Rescue Department