This Month
SANDAG newsletter
provides information
on key projects & services
SANDAG 2008 year in review
Monitoring report tracks region's progress
Underage drinking and driving:
A local and national concern
New bicycle commuter
benefit available
SANDAG invites nominations
for 2009 Diamond Awards
Actions from the December Board of Directors meeting
SANDAG and the region overall achieved a host of major successes during 2008, including making great strides in building important new transportation infrastructure; at the same time, officials began preparing for what could be very difficult economic times ahead.
The first part of 2008 brought the closing of the books on the original TransNet program – the region’s half-cent sales tax for transportation that financed a long list of vital transit, local road, and highway projects over its 20-year life. The TransNet extension began with similar goals, as well as mandates for several new programs such as, creating the Environmental Mitigation Program to preserve open space for the future, launching the Smart Growth Incentive Program to encourage sustainable development and expanding the regional bike system.
By year’s end, the region began preparing for tough economic times – with local officials appearing before Congress to report on infrastructure needs and SANDAG helping to organize a regional list of ready-to-go projects so the San Diego region can respond quickly to a federal stimulus program.
Here are some of the highlights of a very productive year for SANDAG and the region:
Drivers in Santee and communities to the east had good reason to celebrate the new year as officials broke ground in January on a section of the State Route 52 extension that will connect SR 125 to SR 67. Once construction is complete, the new section of freeway will provide traffic relief on parallel routes and local arterials.
Construction on a new expressway within a freeway in the center median of Interstate 15 also achieved some monumental milestones in 2008. In February, work began on the southern portion of the project, which is being built in three sections. And in September, the first new piece of the I-15 Express Lanes – four and a half miles of the middle section – opened to traffic. Funded in part by TransNet, the $1.3 billion project will stretch 20 miles along I-15 from SR 163 to SR 78 when completed in 2012. The four reversible lanes feature direct access ramps for carpools and transit, as well as a state-of-the-art FasTrak automated tolling system to allow solo drivers to access the lanes for a fee.
In April, work began on another major infrastructure program – officials broke ground on a $343 million extension of SR 905 to help close the gap between the Otay Mesa border crossing and Interstate 805, the first of three major projects expected to ease the lengthy border waits that are taking a huge economic toll in Mexico and the United States. The project makes up a piece of the six-mile, $670 million stretch of SR 905 from the border crossing to I-805.
In addition to SR 905, plans moved forward in 2008 for a major reconfiguration of the San Ysidro border crossing that will dramatically increase its capacity. And regional officials pursued a proposal for a third border crossing – Otay Mesa East – and a connector highway to link it to the freeway system. In September, the governor signed into law SB 1486 – a bill carried by State Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny – which would authorize SANDAG to collect a toll from travelers using State Route 11 to develop and construct the new highway and Otay Mesa East Port of Entry facility. The federal government issued a Presidential Permit in December allowing plans to proceed. And the California Transportation Commission set aside $75 million toward the project.
The TransNet program, which is helping to fund the SR 52, SR 905, and I-15 programs, had an impact in many different areas during 2008.
- SANDAG celebrated the success of the original 20-year TransNet half-cent sales tax for transportation program. Between 1988 and 2008, TransNet raised $3.3 billion, built and upgraded 75 miles of highway (SR 78, 52, 76, 125, 56, and 54), added more than 80 trolley and commuter rail miles, expanded transit service, paid for more than 800 local road projects, funded regional bicycle projects, and created walkable communities.
- The 40-year TransNet extension, approved by San Diego County voters in 2004, took effect in 2008. It is expected to raise $14 billion over its life for a wide variety of transportation-related infrastructure and programs.
- Under the TransNet extension’s $850 million Environmental Mitigation Program, SANDAG began purchasing open space to mitigate for current and future impacts caused by transportation infrastructure projects. During 2008, the EMP acquired and restored four parcels – a total of approximately 590 acres – for $23.5 million.
- Moving to take advantage of low interest rates in order to jump-start major transportation infrastructure projects on the TransNet “Early Action Projects” list, SANDAG sold $600 million in transportation bonds in March.
- In December, SANDAG put out a call for projects inviting the region’s jurisdictions to apply for $9.7 million under the Smart Growth Incentive Program, created by the TransNet extension to encourage compact, transit-oriented development.
On the economic front, several developments occurred at SANDAG during 2008. In March, the Board of Directors finalized the Regional Economic Prosperity Strategy. It concluded that the region’s standard of living is not growing as fast as the rest of the state’s and the nation’s, largely due to a disproportionate number of jobs at the low end of the pay scale and a widening gap between high-
and low-wage positions. The Strategy offers a list of specific proposals to reverse the trend.
In October, SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos was one of 15 witnesses invited to testify before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in Washington, D.C., in a hearing titled “Investing
in Infrastructure: The Road to Recovery.” And in December, SANDAG released the San Diego Region Economic Stimulus Proposal, which compiled a list of ready-to-go infrastructure projects from agencies and municipalities within the county to demonstrate the need for funds and in order to be ready should federal economic stimulus package funds become available.
In July, the governor signed SB 1685 – carried by State Senator Christine Kehoe – which provides SANDAG the flexibility to expand the uses of sales tax revenues beyond transportation related projects for future ballot measures.
It was a big year for the region’s 511 program, a free phone and Web service designed to be a one-stop shop for transportation, transit, and travel information. Launched in February 2007, 511 served nearly 1 million people (700,000 on the phone and 230,000 on the Web) by its first birthday, and reached its one millionth caller in July. The 511 TV Broadcast also was launched on three government-access television channels in the county during the summer.
Other transportation demand management programs launched in 2008 include: iCommute, a new online ridematching service; the cost of commute calculator, an online resource that allows San Diego commuters to figure out how much they are paying for their commutes and compare that to alternatives, such as carpooling or taking transit; and the Commuter Benefit Starter Kit for Employers, a step-by-step guide for companies that want to create commuting programs that help employees reduce traffic congestion, save money, and reduce their impact on the environment.
Also in 2008, SANDAG partnered with several other regional agencies and organizations and began developing a vision for the ultimate build out of Lindbergh Field, San Diego’s international airport.
In April, the SANDAG Criminal Justice Research Division released a report entitled Twenty-Five Years of Crime in the San Diego Region: 1983 through 2007. The region’s violent crime rate dropped to a 25-year low in 2007, with 4.41 reported incidents per 1,000 residents, the report stated.
Another eventful year is expected in 2009. The SR 52 and 905 projects will continue to move forward, another section of the I-15 Express Lanes will open, and the Compass Card program – a transit smart card – will be fully deployed.
Stay tuned to rEgion for the latest information on how SANDAG and its member agencies are working to improve the quality of life for San Diego region residents.
Project Manager
David Hicks, Senior Public Information Officer
(619) 699-6939, E-mail: dhic@sandag.org