ENCINITAS — The second collapse in as many months gave pause to many beachgoers March 12, as 55 feet of the bluff gave way in Leucadia under a duplex at 1084-1086 Neptune Avenue.

While no injuries were reported and the housing structure seemed to be intact, some residents were frightened.

“I’m afraid to walk on the beach these days,” said John Schumaker.

The retired Encinitas resident said his early morning exercise routine of walking from Moonlight Beach to Grandview has become potentially hazardous.

“Most of the time it’s just a few crumbles here and there in the cliff but you can see how these houses perched on the bluff are just a time bomb waiting to explode,” he said. “I’m afraid someone’s going to get hurt.”

In February, a section of the bluff in the 700 block of Neptune Avenue collapsed trapping a landscaper working to shore up the cliff. Rescuers freed the man and he was transported by helicopter to Scripps La Jolla.

An estimated 30 to 35 cubic yards of earth tumbled down the side of the cliff taking lumber from a retaining system with it, according to lifeguards.

Greg Shields, an engineer for the city, said that the cause of the failure was not yet evident because vegetation on the bluff was disguising the scene. “It will take forensic analysis to determine what caused this,” he said.

Owners of the complex were not available to comment.

“I wish someone would stop these people from building so close to the beach,” said Julian Taylor.

The Michigan resident said he visits North County beaches annually and has witnessed a steady erosion of the shoreline.

“It just seems like each year there is a little less beach and the houses are literally sitting on top of your head,” he said.

Shields said the retaining system was inadequate.

“It was a railroad-tie and telephone-pole retaining wall and it didn’t meet any kind of engineering standard,” he said.