San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
Online forums pave road for feedback
Want to flag a poorly designed highway interchange? Call out a bus route that needs more frequency? How about bike lanes with particularly unsafe stretches?
Transportation officials with the San Diego Association of Governments are rolling out new online forums — dubbed engagement hubs — aimed at improving highways, streets and transit services in collaboration with the public. San Diegans will be able to watch videos on proposed projects, fill out surveys and leave detailed comments down to the street level using interactive maps.
“Through this public information, we will identify where new transportation options are desired and how the public can be best served,” said Hasan Ikhrata, executive director of SANDAG.
The agency has organized the online forums by commuter corridor and, so far, has launched two of a dozen planned engagement hubs:
• The “South Bay to Sorrento” hub stretches 28-miles from the border to Sorrento Valley and includes some of the region’s busiest commuter routes, including interstates 5, 8 and 805 as well as state routes 52, 54, 94 and 905. It also features the Bayshore Bikeway, COASTER rail service, the Blue Line trolley and many bus lines. For more information, visit sandag.mysocialpinpoint.com/southbaytosorrento.
• The “Central Mobility Hub” hub focuses on the development of a massive so-called San Diego Grand Central that would serve as the nerve center for an envisioned high-speed rail system and connect transit users more directly to the international airport downtown. Officials are currently studying two locations for the project — either just south of the Old Town Transit Center on property currently owned by the Navy or northeast of the airport between Interstate 5 and Pacific Highway. For more information, visit sandag.mysocialpinpoint.com/cmhandconnections.
Rush-hour traffic remains down at major highway hotspots by roughly 25 percent since the pandemic started, according to SANDAG data. The average speed at these locations was 63 mph in January compared to 50 mph before the lockdown. Areas experiencing the most relief include the connection between interstates 805 and 15, as well as state Route 52 at Mast Boulevard.
However, officials have warned that congestion will quickly return with even a relatively small uptick in driving. Traffic was edging up in November before coronavirus cases spiked this winter.
Online engagement hubs are currently under development for several other commuter corridors:
• The North County corridor looks at Oceanside, Vista, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Escondido and surrounding unincorporated areas. Major congestion hotspots include Palomar Airport Road, state routes 78 and 78, and interstates 5 and 15.
• The San Vicente corridor includes Poway, Ramona, Lakeside and the Barona Reservation. Areas of concern include state routes 67 and 78, as well as Wildcat Canyon road and connections to trial lands.
• The Coast, Canyons and Trails corridor will focus on San Diego, Santee, El Cajon and surrounding unincorporated areas. Highways of concern include state routes 52 and 67, 125 and 163 as well as interstates 5, 15, 8 and 805.
The online forums were developed in response to pandemic restrictions on public gatherings and replace traditional community meetings. Officials said the engagement hubs may prove more convenient for many residents than in-person meetings and will likely continue alongside traditional outreach even after lockdown restrictions lift.
“Usually, we’d go to every part of the county,” said Jessica Gonzales, a spokeswoman with SANDAG. “We’d have materials, but it wouldn’t be as interactive as it is now. This is a more on-your-time way, versus us telling you when to come.”
Residents can catch livestreamed presentations before they’re posted online to the engagement hubs. Links to the live presentations are available on the forum websites. People can sign up to receive updates via email through the SANDAG website (sandag.org).