Mayor Madrid Abstains in SANDAG Vote on Road Map for Transit Improvements

Saying that regional planners have made three major mistakes in the past, Mayor Art Madrid abstained from a vote Friday on the future of local transit.

A blueprint for transportation improvements across San Diego County through 2050 was approved Friday at a meeting of the board of directors of the San Diego Association of Governments.

The 2050 Regional Transportation Plan, or RTP, which has been under development for two years, sets up $214 billion worth of projects over the next 38 years.

It passed 17-1-1, with Lemon Grove Mayor Mary Sessom dissenting and La Mesa Mayor Madrid abstaining.

The RTP drew criticism from mass transit and environmental activists, who believe the document leans too far toward expanding the area's freeways, at the expense of mass transit and air quality.

However, several board members called the RTP “balanced” between freeway improvements and mass transit.

San Diego Councilwoman Sherri Lightner, who pushed for transit to be a bigger priority when the plan was presented to city officials, said she was satisfied that her concerns were addressed.

County Supervisor Ron Roberts said members of the public who spoke out against the RTP for environmental problems oppose a lot of things, including a recent solar energy project. The plan meets all state air quality requirements, said Roberts, who sits on the state's Air Resources Board.

“You won't be one of the first regions in the state to adopt a plan to deal with greenhouse gases; you'll be one of the first in the world to do that,'' Roberts told the SANDAG board.

SANDAG, made up of officials of the county of San Diego and its 18 cities, says the plan improves mass transit, includes bicycling and walking lanes, and promotes programs that reduce demand while increasing efficiency.

“This document represents plenty of compromise, probably no one likes all of it,'' San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders said.

The plan will improve and expand trolley service and highway projects, enable more frequent and reliable Coaster and Amtrak service, increase the frequency of Sprinter service and add limited-stop express Sprinter service.

Sessom said the RTP puts control of transportation and environmental mitigation projects in the hands of a third party, and it doesn't jibe with charts showing projected population growth.

Among the earliest freeway projects envisioned in the 2050 RTP are car pool lanes on Interstate 5 from La Jolla to Oceanside and on state Route 78 from Oceanside to Escondido.

In all, the RTP received 4,000 comments from 1,500 individuals and organizations, according to SANDAG. The organization is scheduled to issue an update to the plan in four years.

Elis Arias, a planner for SANDAG, provided La Mesa Patch this list of trolley and highway improvements planned for East County:

Transit:

• Trolley 510 and 520: Trolley System Rehabilitation (Blue and Orange Lines)
• Trolley 520: Orange Line Rail Grade Separations (Euclid Ave, Broadway/ Lemon Grove Ave, Allison Ave/University Ave/La Mesa Blvd, Severin St)
• Trolley 522: Orange Line Express  El Cajon to downtown San Diego
• Trolley 560: SDSU to downtown via MidCity, El Cajon/Park Blvds
• Trolley 562: UTC to San Ysidro via Kearny Mesa, Mission Valley, MidCity, Southeastern San Diego, National City/Chula Vista via Highland Ave/4th Av
• Trolley 563: Pacific Beach to El Cajon via Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Mission Valley, SDSU
• Trolley 510, 520, 522, 540, 560: Downtown Trolley Tunnel (12th & Imperial Transit Center to County Center/Little Italy Trolley Station)
• BRT 90: Santee/El Cajon Transit Centers to downtown via SR 94 (Peak Only)
• BRT 628: South Bay BRT (Otay MesaDowntown) via Otay Ranch/Millenia
• BRT 870: El Cajon to UTC via Santee, SR 52, I805
• BRT 890: El Cajon to Sorrento Mesa via SR 52, Kearny Mesa
• BRT 680, 688/689: Otay Mesa/San Ysidro to Sorrento Mesa via I805 Corridor, Otay Ranch/Millenia, National City, Southeastern San Diego, MidCity, Kearny Mesa
• Rapid 10: La Mesa to Ocean Beach via MidCity, Hillcrest, Old Town
• Rapid 11: Spring Valley to SDSU via Southeastern San Diego, downtown, Hillcrest, MidCity
• Rapid 636: SDSU to Spring Valley via East San Diego, Lemon Grove, Skyline

Highway:

• I8 from I5 to SR 125: 8F/10F to 8F/10F+Operational
• I8 from SR 125 to 2nd Street: 6F8F to 6F/8F+Operational
• I8 from 2nd Street to Los Coches: 4F/6F to 6F
• SR 52 from I15 to SR 125: 4F to 6F+2ML[R]
• SR 54 from I5 to SR 125: 6F to 6F+2ML
• SR 67 Mapleview Street to Dye Road: 2C/4C to 4C
• SR 94 from I5 to SR 125: 8F to 8F+2ML
• SR 94 from SR 125 to Avocado Blvd: 4F to 6F
• SR 94 from Avocado Blvd. to Jamacha Rd: 4C to 6C
• SR 94 from Jamacha Rd. to Steele Canyon Rd: 2C/4C to 4C
• SR 125 from SR 54 to SR 94: 6F to 6F+2ML
• SR 125 from SR 94 to I8: 8F to 10F+2ML
• I15/SR 52 HOV Connector
• SR 15/SR 94 HOV Connector
• I805/SR 94 HOV Connector
• SR 94/SR 125 Freeway Connector

City News Service contributed to this report.