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If
Budget Were no Problem, What Would be the Area in Which
You Would Focus Attention and Improvements?
Lynne
Baker
February 17, 2004
Transit
Infrastructure on the ground to meet/exceed the Regional
Transit Vision. It addresses six of the issues in the
focus list and several that are not on the list:
Infrastructure, traffic, transportation, affordable
housing, governmental reform from city manager type
to strong mayor type, educational facilities, deprived
or poor neighborhoods, health services or facilities;
cross-border issues.
Excellent transit is the single most important infrastructure
that will support growth in existing neighborhoods,
particularly growth in multi-family / entry level housing
(the type of housing shown to represent over 50% of
our current need). Successfully completing a transit
system allows people to move about and ease traffic
congestion, freeing the roadways for movement of goods
and services. This also supports public health and safety
(pedestrian environment and eyes on the street). It
also serves many who must now be driven, eliminating
duplicate trip generation.
Currently, our transit system is designed to serve the
poor (and the partier) neighborhoods south of the 8
have no competitive connections to the job centers north
of the 8. People who make over $30k per year have been
historically assumed to avoid transit. A full system,
designed with market competition (read - high frequency,
delivery times comparable to auto) in mind, begins to
address our regions mobility—and demographically
responds to the retirement of the baby boom generation
that will soon be unable to drive, but if capable of
independent mobility, will prove continued contributions
to the community.[build it in time for my old age!]
Leadership could raise awareness of the need for additional
funding for transit and transportation - TransNet alone
won't accomplish this goal - or even keep pace with
projected growth. Also - join with the Taxpayers to
provide independent critique that makes certain we get
what we pay for in the transit realm.
We would also begin to advocate for the I-15 High Speed
Rail - not because the time is right for the bond measure—but
because every transportation improvement we design (trolley
/ bolley facility) we install should be done with an
eye to incorporating this future. While the High Speed
Rail stops only at Temecula, Mira Mar and perhaps downtown,
it provides rails - dual use for future rail service
(freight or passenger). With Riverside residential growth
(300k homes are already approved to be built there)
turning it into another Orange County, we need to consider
long term relief locally from the impacts of the coming
interregional commute increase.
Transit infrastructure is essential to acceptance of
a new airport, and can provide luggage transfers and
disembarcation at five points around the county—Oceanside,
Escondido, El Cajon, Chula Vista and the airport itself.
This would reduce the congestion impacts of relocating
the airport. Finally, the high speed rail connection,
along with the trolley / bolley system integrated into
any new airport creates a multi-modal hub to rival Brussels.
Looking ahead 50 years, we might begin to advocate high
speed rail continue to the border south of us or inland
through Imperial County as well.
A state of the art transit system would be the single
greatest catalyst for right change and impact the greatest
number of the issues in one stroke.
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