Pacific Beach and La Jolla residents can weigh in on the design of three new trolley stops, including one at Balboa Avenue, at a public workshop Wednesday, Aug. 27 from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Community Room of Pacific Beach/Birdie Taylor Branch Library, 4275 Cass St.
The three southerly stops are among nine being created in the Mid-Coast Corridor Transit Project, which will extend trolley service from Santa Fe Depot in downtown San Diego to the University City community and serve major activity centers like Old Town, UCSD and Westfield UTC.
The project would be funded in partnership by San Diego Associations of Governments (SANDAG) using a regional half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements and the Federal Transit Administration New Starts Program.
Brian Curry, chairman of Pacific Beach Planning Group (PBPG) said the group specifically requested SANDAG expand its workshop schedule to include the Pacific Beach community.
“Although the proposed Balboa transit stop is formally within the Clairemont community planning area, it is certainly an extremely important focus of interest, and opportunity, for those who live, work and visit Pacific Beach,” Curry said. “This is ‘the’ opportunity for the public to understand the proposed trolley line and engage SANDAG on the Mid-Coast trolley proposal.” David Hicks, communications manager for SANDAG, the region’s transportation planning agency, talked about the workshop’s purpose.
“It’s to gather input from the public regarding the details of the station design for the three southerly — Tecolote, Clairemont Drive and Balboa Avenue — Mid-Coast trolley stops,” he said, adding details include “landscaping, shelters and paving, as well as access issues.
Hicks said there will be a formal presentation at the outset of the Aug. 27 workshop, followed by small-group discussions about the design of each of the three trolley stops in Pacific Beach and environs.
“We’ll have three tables, each one with a facilitator,” Hicks said. “They’ll go over some ideas for each of the stations and the solicit feedback. Guests will then switch tables so they can comment on all three trolley stations.”
The SANDAG manager said the workshop’s goal is to “get people in the community to make suggestions on what works (from a design standpoint) for each individual station. We want them to fit into the communities.”