Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group heard in October their newly approved community plan update will take effect in mid-November.
The group appointed a new member, Dike Anyiwo, to fill a vacancy. Community planners also heard about an interactive online survey being conducted by San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), a regional transportation planning agency.
The urbanized Midway-Pacific Highway Community, between Old Town and Point Loma, consists of the central Midway area, the Pacific Highway corridor, and the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot. Midway has a commercial core with numerous shopping centers and the Valley View Casino Center (Sports Arena), and includes an extensive industrial/warehouse area plus limited residential.
Community activist Joe LaCava presented on San Diego Forward, an update to San Diego’s regional transportation plan for 2019-2050.
“This is a process SANDAG goes through every four years,” said LaCava. “What’s different this time is that they’re extending the whole process about six months to try to get more public input.”
LaCava said San Diego Forward’s primary goal is to get public participation on a 10-minute online survey at sdforward.com/survey. The survey asks respondents what the priorities should be in developing an updated regional transportation plan.
LaCava said there are three basic concepts in updating the region’s transportation plan: shared mobility including mass transit, connecting transit with other travel modes for last-mile trips, and policy possibilities.
LaCava added SANDAG is taking a long look at improving “backbone” infrastructure, i.e. adding lanes or repositioning them on freeways for use by rapid transit/trolley. “SANDAG is now de-emphasizing the trolley,” he said noting, “It is estimated you can put in five to 10 rapid bus lanes for the cost of one trolley line.”
Added LaCava, “SANDAG is good at leveraging tax dollars with the state and feds to fund projects.”
“We want to interact with SANDAG to help raise the level of interest in our priorities,” said MPHCPG chair Cathy Kenton.
The group’s next meeting takes place Nov. 28 at 3 p.m. at San Diego Urban Corps, 3127 Jefferson St.
