SANDAG passes RTP 2050
Steve Goetsch
Well they did it. Yesterday SANDAG passed their $214 billion, 40 year RTP 2050 plan. The glass half full side of me takes consolation from Chris Nichols
observation in the North County Times (below) that $106 billion of the plan goes for mass transit, more than twice the $49.7 billion allocated for freeway construction.
And Attorney General Kamala Harris severely criticized this plan for not following California law on September 21:
It will take a while for all of this to play out. Senator Kehoe's bill was signed into law and we are still waiting for Caltrans to issue a new Draft Environmental
Impact Report on their proposed "10 plus four with buffer" expansion plan for Interstate Highway 5, due to be released some time next year.
Here is a link to the North County Times report today:
REGION: SANDAG OKs huge transportation plan
A transportation plan that sets aside an unprecedented $106 billion for mass transit in the San Diego region ---- more than twice what it funds for freeways ---- was approved on Friday by the San Diego Association of Governments. The plan, however, was criticized by a slew of transit advocates who said it doesn't go far enough in changing the region's car-dominated culture.
The 2050 Regional Transportation Plan outlines $214 billion worth of added rail tracks, carpool and bike lanes and rapid bus service, much of it planned for North County.
Key North County projects include:
- Up to four new carpool lanes on Interstate 5 from La Jolla to Camp Pendleton; construction could start as early as 2013 and last through 2035. (A connection between I-5 and Highway 78, however, isn't planned until 2035).
- Two new carpool or toll lanes on Highway 78 from Oceanside to Escondido by 2020.
- Completion of a second track along San Diego County's coastal railway; the project is underway and the majority of it is expected to be complete by 2030.
- A second track, by 2030, along the Sprinter rail line from Oceanside to Escondido.
At $106.6 billion, the plan includes far more money for mass transit than for freeways and highways, which will receive $49.7 billion. Local streets and roads will get $37.4 billion, debt service accounts for about $12 billion while a group of other projects including rail tunnels and bike paths will get roughly $8 billion.
Steve Goetsch
Solana Beach, California