Land use and transportation think tank Circulate San Diego released a report on March 6 at Old Town Transit Center finding that a Metropolitan Transit Service ballot measure could raise much-needed revenue to help the city meet its ambitious transportation- and climate-action goals.
“Our report, Transit Together, showcases that if MTS were to put a new ballot measure together for the region, that could fund up to $10 billion of new transportation improvements,” said CSD executive director and general counsel Colin Parent. “These improvements could include a new trolley line from San Ysidro to Kearny Mesa, increasing the frequency for our existing bus facilities or funding for new and better service on our existing trolley lines.”
“MTS has the opportunity to reinvest $10 billion in local revenue to improve our transportation network and create good paying local jobs, and we look forward to working with MTS to ensure the proposal does just that,” said Armando Nuñez with the Southwest Carpenters.
Andy Hanshaw, president of the San Diego County Bicycle Coalition, said: “This MTS measure is about safety, improving our roadway and sidewalks for bicycles and pedestrians to get safely to transit stops, schools, senior centers and local communities. It’s also about the potential to fill gaps in our regional bicycle network that will connect routes for bicyclists throughout San Diego County.”
Added Hawkins: “It’s also an opportunity to improve access and amenities in and around transit centers, and provide communities with needed funds to implement projects on their own that connect with transit. A strong transportation system benefits all of us whether we drive, walk or bike to work, school or our local businesses. It provides more choices to get us moving safely to more places.”
Parent said the purpose of the press conference was to do outreach to “get people talking about what they’d like to see if a ballot measure like this passes.”
In order for the city to have a chance to meet its transportation mode-sharing goals in San Diego’s Climate Action Plan, Parent noted, “We’re going to have to have more (financial) resources.” He added the decision on whether to go for a ballot measure is up to MTS’s governing board to decide. “We hope this starts the conversation about what people would like to see with a ballot measure,” he said.
The City of San Diego’s adopted Climate Action Plan calls for eliminating half of all greenhouse gas emissions in the City, and to have all electricity used in the city, to be from renewable sources by 2035.
“This measure could be a transportation solution for our future and generations of San Diegans to come,” Hanshaw said.
