The City Council on Sept. 17 unanimously approved a Midway Community Plan update, which will guide development during the next 20 years. 
The approved plan more than doubles the capacity for future housing, while providing 30 acres of new parkland and multi-modal pedestrian and bicycle pathways.
Midway presently is largely dominated by commercial, industrial and warehouse space. 
With Council approval of its updated community plan, one major redevelopment puzzle piece remains: What’s to become of the Valley View Casino Center (3500 Sports Arena Blvd.) built in 1966? Nearly 100 acres of City-owned Midway property leased to various businesses, including Valley View Casino Center, will expire in 2020.
Cathy Kenton, Midway-Pacific Highway Community Planning Group chair, said the community plan update, 11 years in the making, came a long way from start to finish.
“The earlier version of the update did not address our traffic issues,” she said. “We have a much better document now going forward and I’m really excited.”
District 2 Councilmember Lorie Zapf praised the plan update.
“The Midway planning area is home to major attractions like the Sports Arena and Liberty Station, however, the community has many blighted areas,” Zapf said. “With this new plan, we can say goodbye to the Red-Light District of yesteryear and welcome in a new era with better transportation, improved housing options, park and recreation facilities and a fantastic balance of mixed-use projects.” 
Zapf said the new Midway Community Plan calls for millions of dollars of critical traffic improvements at 20 intersections and 17 roadway segments throughout the community. The traffic improvements are to be implemented over time and will include a multimodal approach to help the City meet its climate-action goals. 
Additionally, the community plan will jumpstart the coordination between the City and other regional transportation agencies to address the I-5 and I-8 interchanges.
Mayor Kevin Faulconer was on board with the Midway Community Plan update.
“This will set the stage for the type of development we want to see in the Midway area, like more housing and jobs for residents and a revitalized entertainment district that all San Diegans can enjoy,” Faulconer said. “We’re doubling down on our strategy of focusing new development around transit and job centers as we rebuild our city for the future.”
The Midway-Pacific Highway Community Plan update calls for:
– A bay-to-bay multi-use path that will support bicycle and pedestrian travel between Mission Bay and San Diego Bay.
– Thirty acres of new parkland, including two linear parks connected by enhanced streetscapes that complement the multi-use path.
– A new recreation center to serve future residents.
– A vibrant entertainment area that incorporates a mix of entertainment, office, retail, housing and park space to be potentially developed with the existing Valley View Casino Center, with a new arena, or no arena.
Midway currently has a population of about 5,600 covering about 1,324 acres buffeted by the San Diego River, Interstate 5, two trolley stations and the San Diego International Airport.
The new update for the Midway area provides a land-use framework during the next 20-plus years allowing for more housing opportunities near transit priority areas while encouraging commercial activity and job opportunities for nearby residents. 
Over time, the community plan is expected to increase housing capacity from 5,040 existing units to 11,585 units, with 99 percent of those units located in transit-priority areas.