Approximately three-quarters of employed South Bay residents – 111,000 individuals – work outside of the South Bay. If you’re one of them, you probably know all too well that our region’s traffic is getting worse. That means most of us are wasting time and gas sitting in traffic getting to and from work every day. We need a solution that will relieve traffic congestion, and that solution is Measure A.
Measure A will relieve traffic congestion and increase service on our region’s trolley and bus lines which will allow us to meet state greenhouse reduction targets. Here in the South Bay, we’ll see several improvements if this measure passes, including new rapid bus services, shortened waiting times on the trolley, and repaired streets and sidewalks. Measure A will also update our highways to ease congestion and make repairs on the I-5, and SR 94. For those who walk and bike, this measure will make investments to make our streets safer. A new Purple Trolley line is also planned and will serve the communities of San Ysidro, Kearny Mesa, Chula Vista, National City, and mid-city San Diego. In all of these ways, Measure A will help reduce commute times and give a growing San Diego workforce more options to get to work.
While we plan for the future, we can improve the service we have now. Riders on the Orange, Blue and Green lines will see increased frequency and capacity to shorten commute times just a few months after the election. Wait times will reduce from 15 minutes to 7.5 minutes on weekdays and from 30 minutes to 15 minutes on weekends. Additionally, $540 million will be dedicated to helping seniors, students, the disabled, low income and veterans travel on transit across the County.
Every city will receive funding based on population to invest in local infrastructure projects. These projects include filling potholes, repairing roads, and building sidewalks. Measure A passing will bring much-needed relief for smaller towns like National City or Imperial Beach. These important and basic services won’t be as much as a burden on our general fund, which we use to fund our critical public safety services.
In addition to all of this, we’re still are dealing with the effects of the statewide drought and we need to protect our watershed and the rest of the county that is open space. Measure A will preserve San Diego’s environment at a critical time for our region. New funds will be used to acquire up to 25,000 acres of open space and mange that land to help prevent wildfires and protect our water ways. Our firefighters understand the necessity of properly managing our land which is why San Diego Firefighters support this measure.
There is a recognition that work on some of these transportation problems in our region are a high priority. Based on feedback from the public about the region’s greatest transportation needs, Measure A designates a list of priority projects that will provide better connections to regional job centers and provide transportation choices. Here in South County, those priority projects are: new Rapid Express services connecting the communities of San Ysidro, Downtown, Old Town, Kearny Mesa, and Otay Mesa, increased trolley service on the Blue Line, new I-5 Managed Lanes and general purpose lane, and the new Purple Line Trolley between San Ysidro and Kearny Mesa.
While there are groups that didn’t get 100% of everything they wanted and are opposing this measure, there are many of us who know this will address the needs of our communities. Measure A has a strong, bi-partisan and broad coalition of support from the business community, environmentalists, and our public safety organizations. Vote yes on Measure A to upgrade our roads, deteriorating bridges, overpasses and invest in new transit for the south bay to relieve congestion and plan for the future.
Morrison is the Mayor of National City and is currently serving as the Past President of the National Congress of Governments (NARC) and is the Past President of the California Congress of Governments (CALCOG). He is a member of the Board for Directors for the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and the San Diego County Water Authority (CWA).
