SAN DIEGO–After more than two years of public engagement and technical study, the SANDAG Board of Directors will consider the final version of San Diego Forward: The Regional Plan for adoption this Friday.
San Diego Forward is a big-picture vision for the region’s future, combined with a specific plan for building $204 billion worth of transportation infrastructure between now and 2050 to help make that vision a reality.
The plan seeks to strike a balance, helping to guide future growth in a way that preserves mobility in the region and supports jobs and our economy, while creating healthy communities, preserving half the region as open space, and exceeding the greenhouse gas reduction targets set for our region by the California Air Resources Board.
“This plan relies on adding layers of transportation choice,” said SANDAG Chair and Santee Councilmember Jack Dale. “By growing within our existing communities – then connecting those communities with not just freeways, but with carpool lanes, transit services, bikeways, and safe walking routes – we can achieve all of our goals.”
By 2050, the region is expected to be home to a million more people than it is now, half a million more jobs, and 300,000 more homes. In anticipation, city and county land use plans have changed to focus most forecasted growth in already existing communities. The Regional Plan responds to those new land use patterns, overlaying more transportation choices to connect communities with different modes of travel.
The plan looks far into the future, projecting what funds will be available over a 35-year period, and what can be done with those funds to improve the region’s transportation system. The Plan is updated every four years.
Overall, the plan:
- Commits more than 50 percent of its $204 billion investment to transit, including five new Trolley lines, 32 new Rapid lines, and significant increases in transit frequencies.
- Dedicates 15 percent of its resources to add 160 miles of Managed Lanes to our existing freeways for the specific purpose of allowing transit, carpools, and vanpools to be more efficient and bypass traffic.
- Directs more than $588 million to building 275 miles of bikeways, making active transportation a realistic alternative to car travel for more people.
- Invests a total of $4.9 billion in active transportation improvements throughout the region, including biking and walking improvements, such as upgrades to freeway overpasses.
- Ensures that in the next five years 75 percent of all transportation funds will be invested in transit and active transportation, including the Mid-Coast Trolley extension, the Mid-City Centerline Rapid Stations project, the South Bay Rapid project, and the continued double-tracking of our coastal rail corridor.
The October 9 Board meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in the SANDAG board room on the 7th Floor of 401 B Street in downtown San Diego. The public is welcome to attend and comment to the Board, or listen live at their website (click on the audiocast icon during the meeting).
