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East County's Casa de Oro, which was going to benefit from a demonstration project for Campo Road road improvements, saw a grant from the federal government rescinded. ECM photo
Local residents and officials voice disappointment in decision
By Karen Pearlman
Oct. 14, 2025 (Casa de Oro) -- Campo Road, one of San Diego County’s historic thoroughfares, was the unfortunate recipient last month of a federal snub and a $1 million-plus grant being taken back.
In Sept. 9 email to the county, a United States Department of Transportation official explained its rescinding of the $1.1653 million grant, calling a Casa de Oro community group-backed plan that dared to add bike lanes to the area “hostile to motor vehicles.”
Campo Road was among several U.S. DOT canceled grants.
DOT funding was also pulled from an area in Fairfield, Alabama that would have converted a street lane into a bikeway. The DOT rescinded several grants for projects in Boston. Key grants affected included more than $300 million for an Allston Multimodal Project and $20 million for a project called Roxbury Resilient Corridors.
Venerable Campo Road is part of the surface-street alignment of state Route 94, which carries the California highway designation through East County. SR 94 is a rural-feeling stretch of highway that terminates where it meets Interstate 8 past Campo near Boulevard.
Backed by community groups, including the Casa de Oro Alliance, local residents were championing some changes coming to Campo Road.
Plans were in place for its five lanes to be narrowed down to two, with dedicated bicycle lanes added as well as a median and a roundabout. The changes were to be helped to be built via a $1 million-plus federal grant awarded to San Diego County as part of the Safe Streets and Roads for All program.
David Shorey, a member of the Casa de Oro Alliance, told East County Magazine that for more than five years, residents involved in the Alliance were seeking to transform the community “to a drive-to destination instead of a drive-through destination” through a demonstration project.
The Campo Road Revitalization Demonstration Project had been selected by the DOT to receive a $1.1653 million grant last November in round 3 of the FY 2024 awards. The project’s total cost was set at $1.4566 million, according to information provided by DOT.
Shorey said that the community push has been focused on the physical conditions that exist on and around Campo Road, “working to improve driver and pedestrian safety and create an environment that is open and welcoming to a diversity of businesses.
The Casa de Oro Alliance’s vision includes offering an attractive, safe, pedestrian-friendly and popular destination for dining, entertainment and shopping.
Grant rescinded, DOT says in letter
But the county received a letter dated Sept. 9, 2025, from the DOT that rescinded the grant.
The letter written by Maria Lefevre, executive director for the Office of the Under Secretary of Transportation for policy for the DOT, said that the department was withdrawing selection of the demonstration project for grant consideration.
“DOT’s priorities presently include: ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently in ways that maximally benefit the American people and improve their quality of life,” Lefevre wrote, “(and) reducing roadway traffic congestion by preserving or increasing roadway capacity for motor vehicles.”
She further wrote that “in light of DOT’s priorities, the Department has determined that your grant selection is inconsistent the priorities listed above.
“Specifically, your project seeks to demonstrate bike lane striping that appears to reduce lane capacity and a road diet that is hostile to motor vehicles, which runs counter to DOT’s priority of preserving or increasing roadway capacity for motor vehicles.”
She noted that the Campo Road project “is no longer in accordance with agency priorities.”
According to the DOT website, those SS4A grant program priorities include “significantly reducing and eventually eliminating roadway fatalities and serious injuries” and also that the program “focuses on the development of a comprehensive safety action plan and its implementation for all users of our highways, streets, and roadways, including pedestrians, bicyclists, public transportation users, motorists, personal conveyance and micromobility users, emergency vehicles, and commercial vehicle operators.”
County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe’s District 4 area includes Campo Road and Casa de Oro. She said the current Trump administration needs to take a better look at its decisions.
"It’s deeply troubling to see this administration making decisions that affect communities they’ve never set foot in, and for residents they’ve never taken the time to engage,” she said. “Casa de Oro, and our entire region, has spent decades working to build a safer, more inclusive, and walkable community. To see that progress threatened in favor of car-centric planning is unacceptable. We will continue fighting for and finding ways to fund projects that reflect the vision and needs of our communities.”
More community voices weigh in
Colin Parent, CEO and general counsel for Circulate San Diego, the nonprofit that advocates for better mobility options and vibrant neighborhoods through public policy, safe streets and sustainable growth, called the Trump administration’s decision to revoke the Campo Road funding “ a step backwards for safety.”
“This project had strong community support to promote safety for all users, and would not have been hostile to automobiles,” he said. “Everyone should feel safe on our streets, including pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists alike.”
Lisa Stewart, president of the Casa de Oro Alliance, said that Campo Road was an outstanding candidate for the grant.
The road has myriad entrances and drive-thrus with narrow sidewalks that make it difficult to navigate for pedestrians and can cause issues for cyclists.
Stewart said her husband, an avid cyclist, has to drive his car -- with his bike on a bike rack -- outside of the area if he wants to go on longer rides and to avoid safety hazards along Campo Road.
She said that the plan for Campo Road was only supposed to be a temporary change, used during a demonstration period, “but that’s still a bummer.” Stewart said at the very least, the project would have resulted in being a good learning experience for the county, especially if it wanted to look into making similar changes on roads elsewhere.
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