Beach Traffic to Be Curbed Over Holiday

If the weather is as balmy as the National Weather Service predicts this weekend, Mission and Pacific Beach residents are advised not to leave home without proof that they live there.

Expecting huge Memorial Day weekend crowds, San Diego police plan to divert traffic from West Mission Bay Drive beginning about 10 a.m. Saturday. When South Mission Beach parking lots are full, police also plan to close Mission Boulevard south of the roller coaster.

“This is being done to provide easy access to emergency vehicles to those areas,” police spokesman Bill Robinson said. Only residents will be allowed to pass the barricades.

Police advise motorists going to the beach this weekend to use Grand Avenue and Ingraham Street to reach the shore from the south or the east. Free shuttle buses will leave every 20 minutes from Grand Avenue and Culver Street and will stop at any bus stop along the route, which runs down Grand to Ingraham Street, north to Garnet Avenue, west to Mission Boulevard, then south to Mission Beach, where it turns around and retraces the route.

Clouds are expected to keep beaches cool in the morning but clearing is expected in the afternoon, with highs in the 60s. The surf will be flat at about 2 to 3 feet, and the ocean temperature is 64 degrees.

Ocean breezes are expected to be 10 to 16 m.p.h. from the west to southwest.

According to forecaster Wilbur Shigehara, a weak cold front due tonight from the Northwest will simply forestall a warming trend and temperatures should climb through Monday.

He predicted typical Memorial Day weekend weather, with cloudy skies in the morning and evening, and sunny afternoons.

Coastal strip highs are expected to be in the 70s with lows in the 54- to 61-degree range, and inland valley highs will inch toward 90 over the weekend, with lows in the 50s.

The desert will be hot, with highs over 100 and lows in the 58- to 68-degree range. In the mountains, it will be fair with highs in the 70s and lows in the 30s and 40s.