On the Move

On the Move is a collaborative effort between SANDAG, Caltrans District 11, the City of San Diego, Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), and North County Transit District (NCTD) that was completed in September 2025. Funded by a Caltrans Planning Grant, this comprehensive project identified key corridors, provided a toolbox of quick-build strategies, piloted near-term designs, and created a roadmap for implementation across the San Diego region.

Quick-Build Transit Projects

Fast, safe, reliable, and accessible bus service is essential for helping people reach work, school, and daily destinations. However, large-scale bus improvement projects can take many years to implement and require significant funding. Riders consistently express a desire for tangible improvements they can experience today.

Quick-build projects—also known as tactical transit—offer an innovative pathway to address this gap. These low-cost, flexible initiatives can typically be delivered within 12 to 24 months. By utilizing paint, signage, modular bus platforms, and other rapid deployment tools, quick builds improve speed, safety, and accessibility while testing concepts that may later be scaled into permanent capital projects.

On the Move Objectives

Identify strategic corridors: Analyze and evaluate transit corridors across San Diego County to determine priority locations for quick-build interventions based on ridership demand, equity considerations, and implementation readiness.
Develop a comprehensive toolbox: Create a prescriptive methodology and repository of quick-build treatments tailored to the San Diego region, including design considerations, cost estimates, and use-case applications.
Test concepts through pilot design: Design preliminary quick-build demonstrations for selected corridors to exemplify how these strategies can improve bus operations and inform future regional deployment.
Create an implementation roadmap: Provide practical, actionable guidance for identifying, funding, designing, and implementing quick-build transit treatments within 12 to 18 months.
Engage regional partners: Conduct meaningful engagement with transit operators, community representatives, and regional partners to ensure solutions that reflect diverse needs and priorities.

Deliverables

On the Move provides cities, regional governments, and regional organizations with comprehensive resources to integrate quick-build strategies into their plans and projects. The completed project deliverables are organized into four chapters, each addressing a distinct phase of the quick-build process.

Executive Summary

Executive Summary
The Executive Summary offers a high-level overview of project findings, key recommendations, and implementation priorities.

Chapter 1 and Appendices

Chapter 1: System Evaluation and Priority Improvement Corridors (including Appendices 1A and 1B)
Chapter 1 provides a comprehensive assessment of existing conditions in the San Diego region's transit system and establishes a process for identifying and analyzing corridors for quick-build readiness. Through data analysis and evaluation criteria, this chapter identifies corridors most suited for quick-build interventions.

Appendix 1A: Prior Studies and Plans Spreadsheet
This appendix is a curated repository of relevant local, regional, and national studies and planning documents that informed the On the Move project and its objectives.
Appendix 1B: Corridor Scoring Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet shows detailed scoring data and analysis for 22 corridors evaluated across the San Diego region for quick-build potential.

Chapter 2 and Appendices

Chapter 2: Engagement Strategy (including Appendices 2A and 2B)
Chapter 2 documents the meaningful engagement conducted throughout the On the Move project, including feedback from transit riders, operators, community representatives, and regional partners. The engagement process and findings are essential for ensuring that quick-build recommendations reflect community priorities and regional needs.

Appendix 2A: Outreach Summaries
This is a comprehensive documentation of all stakeholder engagement events, including attendees, key themes, and detailed feedback summaries.
Appendix 2B: Mobility Working Group Workshop
This appendix summarizes two workshops conducted with members of the Mobility Working Group, detailing collaborative discussions and input on quick-build strategies.

Chapter 3 and Appendices

Chapter 3: Transportation Assessment and Recommendations (including Appendix 3A)
Chapter 3 presents a prescriptive matrix and methodology for identifying and recommending the most appropriate quick-build treatments for any given corridor. The chapter demonstrates how to match treatments to corridor characteristics and includes treatment recommendations for opportunity corridors identified in Chapter 1, with detailed designs for the two corridors selected for preliminary design.

Appendix 3A: Quick-Build Treatment Profiles
This is an extensive inventory of quick-build treatments covering use cases, estimated costs, design considerations, implementation timelines, and other critical specifications.
Appendix 3B: Treatment Cost Calculator Spreadsheet
This interactive tool helps estimate the cost of deploying various quick-build treatment types, enabling planners to evaluate feasibility and budget requirements.

Chapter 4 and Appendices

Chapter 4: Pilot Designs and Implementation Roadmap

Chapter 4A: Quick-Build Pilots (including Appendices 4A.1, 4A.2, 4A.3, and 4A.4)
The first part of Chapter 4 details design specifications for quick-build pilots developed for two selected corridors: Oceanside and Broadway (City of San Diego). These pilot project designs exemplify how quick-builds can be strategically utilized to improve bus operations, safety, and accessibility in a corridor.

Appendix 4A.1: Broadway On-Street Study
This appendix outlines the results and analysis from on-street field studies that informed the design recommendations for the Broadway Pilot Design, including traffic patterns, dwell times, and user observations.
Appendix 4A.2: Oceanside Site Visit
This appendix is a summary of site visits and field observations conducted at priority locations throughout Oceanside, including context for design recommendations.
Appendix 4A.3: Broadway Pilot Designs
This appendix provides a 10% engineering-level design for the quick-build pilot project along Broadway in Downtown San Diego, including street cross-sections, traffic control measures, and material specifications.
Appendix 4A.4: Oceanside Pilot Designs
This appendix provides a 10% engineering-level design for the quick-build pilot project in Oceanside, demonstrating treatment applications tailored to the North County context.

Chapter 4B: Quick-Build Implementation Strategy
The second part of Chapter 4 is a practical implementation guide for identifying, designing, funding, and deploying quick-build transit treatments within a 12- to 18-month timeframe. Drawing on lessons learned through extensive technical analysis, partner engagement, and fieldwork across San Diego County, this roadmap provides tailored guidance and corridor-specific recommendations for the two corridors selected for preliminary design.

Next Steps

SANDAG will distribute this study to regional partners and collaborate on implementing future quick-build projects.