Now that the 2020 election excitement is a distant, but disturbing memory, I’m switching my attention to some of the critical local government initiatives that will be impacting our lives here in Rancho Bernardo and Poway.
I have been overwhelmed and deeply appreciative of the depth and quality of information that is available for those of us that are interested. There is much to learn and know about regional water and transportation activities and plans. I can’t believe that I am engrossed in hours and hours of reading, and actually studying hundreds of pages of well-documented findings, policies and plans. Postings by the Water Authority and San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) are detailed and informative.
I’ve also established direct with our elected officials and have created a pathway for a bilateral dialogue. Our city council and county supervisors are earnestly looking for inputs from the public. There is a great opportunity to be involved in our future.
I can’t begin to cover everything. So I’ll select a few interesting morsels — providing some insight into the issues and inserting some commentary. Let’s start off with a look at a couple of key features of the 2021 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that I highlighted last month. There is news and there is some clarification.
First of all, the $177 billion RTP seems to have become the $163 billion plan. I have noticed that the initial thinking of creating an entirely new high-speed rail line between Oceanside and downtown San Diego is evolving into making selected improvements to the existing track system, including some new or highly-modified segments. Considering that there are large segments of the county that are not served by any rail or light rail (trolley-Sprinter) it would seem logical to re-examine the benefits of gaining 10 minutes or so on a 38-mile run, versus the costs to do this. When you factor in the entire time for a typical trip, including getting to and from the transit stations and the time waiting for the next train, gaining a few minutes with a faster train counts for just a small — expensive — part.
I was looking for missing cost data when I wrote last month’s column. It was, in fact, not available. SANDAG has scheduled a series of cost and funding information sessions for the next few board meetings (they started March 12). This all needs to be disclosed and reviewed before the SANDAG board gets to vote on the program in the fall of 2021.
Another major component of the RTP is something that they call managed lanes. Here is how SANDAG explains this transformation of major highways:
The plan creates a system of managed lanes, in which general purpose lanes are repurposed — in certain places and at certain times — into lanes that are open for particular s. These s may include Rapid transit vehicles and other transit services enabled by Transit Leap; people who carpool and rideshare services such as Uber and Lyft.
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Second, the plan converts shoulders on highways, where it is safe to do so, into managed lanes. Third, the plan identifies a limited number of places around the region where stretches of highway are physically widened — but only where absolutely necessary and within the existing corridor right-of-way. Fourth, the plan looks at safety improvements such as curve straightening and interchange improvements to improve circulation and to enhance safety.
This approach to improving our highway network saves approximately $4 billion over previous strategies, largely because it is cheaper to repurpose existing lanes or shoulders than to build new highways or extensively widen existing ones. Additionally, the 2021 Regional Plan contemplates major technology investments that can help maximize the efficiency of the transportation system by providing connectivity between flexible fleet services and transit. These investments in local streets and corridors can make traffic smoother as non-solo driving is prioritized and the overall transportation environment becomes safer.
I have a couple of big concerns with this concept. The last sentence mentions prioritization of non-solo driving. Digging into the details, this seemingly sensible goal comes with a real stinger. The proposed prioritization is accomplished by penalizing anyone driving alone, by imposing tolls on all managed lanes. There is talk of changing HOV to 3 or more, from the current 2-plus. We would all have to drive with toll transponders on such highways.
The second concern is safety. It’s hard enough to maneuver on the freeways with cars driving at different speeds and jockeying for position. This will be complicated by the need to look for and follow signs defining changing “repurposed” lanes. It will put drivers to the test and cause distractions. Add to this the elimination of breakdown lanes. I thought that these were for safety and sometimes for emergency vehicles. How does repurposing them for regular traffic add to safety?
I am digging to find out if there are any examples of this model and what the data will show. Any major transition like this requires a “proof of concept” demonstration.
A Rancho Bernardo resident, Levine is a retired project management consultant and the author of three books on the subject.
