Recently, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve the $204 billion Regional Transportation Plan known as “SD Forward.” The SANDAG board is made up of the mayors and council members from each of the cities in San Diego County and approves the region’s transportation network. Despite claims from the board that its plan is “balanced”, it disproportionately burdens the South Bay with continued air pollution and widened freeway lanes.
In last week’s Op-Ed defending the vote, Mayor Mary Salas touted widenings on the I-805 and I-5 as promoting transit, but the project also includes general purpose lanes for the entire National City I-5 segment that do not serve transit. These are among the only general purpose freeway lanes proposed for the entire county and they are referred in the op-ed as “improvements” instead of “widenings.” In addition, the managed lanes that will serve a planned “rapid” bus line would be shared with carpool vehicles and congestion-priced single-occupancy vehicles, also known as “Lexus lanes”. In other words, those solo drivers who can afford it can use this managed lane to bypass traffic, leading to more congestion and slower travel times for those riding the planned “rapid” bus.
In city planning, we get so caught up in the technical policy details that we often forget about the people most impacted by our decisions. In South Bay communities, including Barrio Logan, National City, western Chula Vista, and San Ysidro, those most vulnerable to the health effects from freeway air pollution are overwhelmingly low-income, minority, and elderly. According to the American Lung Association, air pollution from vehicles contributes to asthma, impaired lung function, heart disease, and premature death. It’s not a coincidence that residents in these neighborhoods adjacent to the I-5 and I-805, suffer from many of these health problems.
Contrary to popular belief, widening freeways does not reduce congestion. Numerous studies, including one by UC Berkley, show that for every 10% increase in road capacity, traffic increased 9% within 4 years. Economists call this “induced demand” and it shows that expanding freeways simply encourages more cars and more congestion. Instead, the best way to address traffic congestion is to offer people safe, robust transportation choices, including walking, biking, and public transit.
The San Diego region has one of the best freeway systems in the world, but its public transit is in dire need of improvements. According to a 2011 Brookings Institute study, only 29% of jobs in the San Diego region are accessible by public transit within 90 minutes travel time.
Instead of spending an estimated $744 million on an expanded I-5 freeway, SANDAG should invest in the Blue Line Express. The Blue Express would add an additional track along the existing Blue Line and allow a limited number of stops between Downtown San Diego and San Ysidro, vastly improving travel times. At an estimated $391 million, the Blue Line Express would achieve improved traffic congestion and travel times while freeing up $353 million that can be spent on protected bikeways, sidewalks, transit, rail lines for the Port’s goods movement, and SANDAG Smart Growth grants throughout the South Bay region. The Third Avenue Streetscape revitalization in Downtown Chula Vista was funded from a Smart Growth grant, and it is these kinds of projects that benefit local businesses, resident health, and improve the overall quality of life.
Mayor Salas is right – we do have the same goals for the region’s future – “a strong economy, healthy communities, and environmental protection.” But the plan she and the SANDAG board voted to approve disproportionately burdens Western Chula Vista, National City, and other South Bay communities with environmental and health effects from the widened freeways. These widened freeway projects use up billions that could otherwise be spent on public transportation that not only helps ease the burden of cost of living for low-income residents, but also more effectively reduces congestion for those that are dependent on the freeway to get to work.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. may have said it best: “If transportation systems in American cities could be laid out so as to provide an opportunity for poor people to get meaningful employment, then they could begin to move into the mainstream of American life.” Moving forward, Mayor Salas and SANDAG can help achieve this economic mobility and improve the health of our most vulnerable populations by shifting funding from freeway widenings to walking, biking, and public transit.
Bush is the Chair of the National City Planning Commission and graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts in City Planning.
