by Danielle Dawson / Fox5News / Nov 14, 2024
Regional planners are revisiting a proposed connection between San Diego International Airport and public transit through a new San Diego Metropolitan Transit System Trolley alignment.
The renewed interest in a potential Trolley link comes after the region’s planning agency, the San Diego Association of Governments, went back into the modeling process for the long-discussed project in February over discussions with federal transit regulators.
These talks, SANDAG staff said at the time, made it clear the planning agency had to go back and collect new data on travel behavior reflecting post-COVID trends before heading into the environmental review process.
This meant rethinking all alternatives, including a Trolley line extension and enhanced bus service, despite an earlier multi-year study concluding that an automated aerial people mover was the best and most “financially feasible” option on the table.
During a meeting of the agency’s Mobility Working Group on Thursday, staff said they were still looking at all of the options, but wanted to put more time into developing a Trolley concept that had not really been explored in that earlier study.
“We know how to do light-rail service in this region, we don’t necessarily know how to do [automated people mover] service, so we really wanted to make sure we were giving full analysis of that light-rail option,” said Jennifer Williamson, SANDAG deputy director for planning.
This new option, which would run from Santa Fe Depot and divert at Little Italy, would require extending the existing trench running up to Hawthorne Street down to Ash Street, addressing one of the primary issues raised with prior discussions of the Trolley connection — timing.
Williamson explained to the Working Group that this new concept could bump up frequency from the previous estimate of 20 minutes to about 10, as the rail line would not have to run through intersections.
The trench extension would also have added benefits for all of the other lines that run through this corridor of the MTS Trolley system, increasing reliability and reducing congestion for drivers.
“When you’re not stopping at all of those intersections and getting all of that delay from stopping at lights and gates and those things, you really do save some time and it allows us to optimize that time and use it better for frequency,” Williamson said.
This would similarly be able to more easily incorporate into existing transit infrastructure unlike the automated people mover, which needs to be completely separated as its electrically-charged lines would be unsafe to be placed at-grade.
However, Williamson noted SANDAG engineers are still fleshing out the practicality of each of the options with the goal of starting to pare down the options to around five by the time they enter the environmental review process in fall of 2025.
In the meantime, the agency will be conducting a widespread survey and outreach effort, including at least two public meetings next summer.
“This outreach effort is really important, because before we took it back in February we hadn’t done an extensive public outreach,” Williamson said. “A lot of people knew that they wanted Trolley to the airport — that’s kind of the way we hear it, it’s ‘Why doesn’t the Trolley connect to the airport?’ But we haven’t gone back and told them what it looks like.”
“As you’ve seen, this is a pretty comprehensive project that’s going to have a lot of impacts to a lot of folks. It’s going to bring benefits, but it’s also going to be hard to construct,” she continued.
Whatever option the agency comes to, Williamson added SANDAG hopes to implement enhanced bus service to the airport in the interim, coinciding with the opening of the first phase of the airport’s new Terminal 1 at the end of next year.
If funding is available, she explained this could look like added service to along the MTS Flyer 992 route, or creation of transit-only lanes through Harbor Drive down the line.
“If it takes us 10 years to construct these projects,” Williamson said, “we really want to recognize the amazing new facility at the airport with all that additional capacity and so we want to provide a higher level of bus service to get folks there using transit.”
The trolley extension is absolutely the way to go as it could lead to eventual extension into Point Loma/Ocean Beach just like the olden days.
Greg, if I thought that was a likely outcome, I’d probably be more enthusiastic (read: not completely against) the trolley extension, but I truly doubt that it will ever happen, and certainly not in my lifetime.
There are two things to consider for an airport only extension. First would be the cost. The people mover option was likely to run into the $4 billion range given inflation and the recent increase in the costs of almost all construction materials and supplies. The Trolley extension from Old Town to UCSD cost $2.2 Billion, and that was without requiring much in the way of right of way acquisition. Not knowing the extent of acquisition needed for an airport extension, it’s hard to say what the cost might be. And, I would note, the UCSD extension cost over twice the national average per mile for construction of a light rail project. Part of this is due to the dirty secret that the Trolley isn’t actually light rail, but is based on heavy rail standards, starting with the old San Diego & Arizona Eastern rail road right of way and track gauge for the original line running to the border and which has been continued since. Rather than doing it right it was decided to do it cheap, which turned out to be more expensive in the long run.
Second, just who is going to ride this trolley, absent an extension to Point Loma/OB/Mission Bay? Everybody says the trolley to the airport is a no brainer, but just who is the extension designed for? We currently have a very convenient bus running through downtown to the airport with a 15 minute headway, which connects to the trolley at Santa Fe station. I’ve been transit captive for the last several weeks on jury duty, and the 992 Airport Flyer passes just ahead of the 923 bus to OB. I’ve watched it at all hours, morning, mid-day and evening rush and have yet to see a significant number of riders.
No one has demonstrated any survey data that would indicate that there would be sufficient riders to make this thing pencil out. And, I would point out, we currently have not only the Flyer but a free bus running from the Old Town transit center. I’ve yet to see any data regarding ridership of this free shuttle. I would think that if this were a raging success, the MTS/Sandag/Airport transportation planners would be boasting about robust ridership. So far…crickets.
If you can’t get people to ride a free bus, how are you going to make them pay to ride a Trolley?
The idea of spending billions more on the airport misses a few key points, not the least of which is the current and potential impact of a constrained San Diego International Airport. More than any other factor, the tourism industry continues to bury their collective heads in the sand. In the third quarter of this year, there were more than 60,000 operations; this represents about 86 percent of the one runway capacity. Recently, the airport authority published an economic impact of the airport on county revenues, or which a substantial portion of the increases each year are proportional to the number of airport operations. When the airport reaches capacity or even becomes constrained at about 85 percent of capacity, the annual revenue increases will stop, but at what point will someone in the City pop their head up out of the sand to raise the question. Now what do we do?
Gary, the airport isn’t going anywhere. Even if it was, we’re talking about a 25 year project to site, entitle and build a new airport. We’ll still have to deal with SDIA for that time period.
A perfect reason G failed. What a complication of a mess SANDAG.
I definitely support the goal.
I agree with Paul Webb on who would ride it. I’ve ridden the direct subway train from the Cleveland airport direct to downtown and there’s rarely anyone but a few airport employees in the early afternoon.
With check-in requirements, who will ride the trolley to catch a 8am or earlier departure or want to use it after a 8pm or later arrival? That’s when a lot of flights operate at San Diego.
I believe the best public transit system in the US pulls maybe 7% of total airline travelers – SD, with possibly not even a direct service downtown would be matched up against a quicker and not that expensive short Uber ride to your exact destination downtown.
The 992 bus must not be doing that great, it must need subsidies to operate 1while the small electric bus from Old Town can’t carry that many people. Where’s a realistic ridership forecast and operational cost/revenue estimates before billions are considered.
Paul, let’s add the fact that California’s two major direct to] airport transportation services (BART to SFO and BART/peoplemover to Oak) were seeing reductions in riders even before Covid. The appetite for taking transit to the airport is just not there.
That being said, I’ve used as a traveler other direct trolley/rail lines to the airport (SFO, OAK, Tokyo Narita, Heathrow express, Madrid metro to the airport, Oslo airport rail service, etc.). It works for me to use these types of services as a tourist/business traveler because they are part of an integrated transportation network that actually went to the places I wanted to go. San Diego, not so much.
What’s the incentive to go down to Santa Fe depot to go to the airport? I wouldn’t do it. Let’s just put in a bike lane and pedicab it. Or one of those pedibars.
People who live in or around downtown?
You reply as though people living downtown will be flying everyday? Or the workforce will be trollying in. LOL
You’re response is confusing and honestly I can’t make sense out of it, but I’ll try to understand. You asked who would go to the Sana Fe depot to go to the airport (and for some reason felt the need to say you wouldn’t). I simply answered who likely would. Likewise, people who live closer to Old Town would get on it there, or UTC people would get on in that location, or the Balboa stop etc. People in La Mesa would get on the orange line and transfer to the blue line (or whatever line ends up going to the airport should it ever be built).
You obviously do not understand there is a transit shuttle that goes to the airport from old town currently. Why would you go to Santa Fe Depot instead? 992 already does the santa fe to airport route.
2 billion dollars for a 2 mile 8 minute ride.
Perspective. Do I haul my luggage to a trolley stop 1/4 mile away to meet a trolley, to then transfer at santa fe, to then get to the airport 1-2 hours ahead? Or do I uber/ lyft from my front door directly? Hmmmm.
In knowing that about Old Town, I probably wouldn’t if I lived by there. That still has nothing to do with all the other places people might be coming from. Living in Hillcrest, yes it is a simple and short Lyft ride. If I lived in La Mesa, then the trolly from there to wherever I have to transfer to the line that get’s me to the airport is what I would opt for over a more expensive Lyft ride.
“Or the workforce will be trollying in. LOL”
Do you mean the workforce who work at the airport? Why wouldn’t they?
Stupid and expensive
Go nowhere
But
An electric bus service from broadway (greyhound, Amtrak, cruise ship) to ucsd along the beach route, via airport, pl, ob, sea world, mb,pb,lj , aquarium ,
Would probably be better
Oh yeah, and, City: Don’t invest on the eroding coast!
I’ve used public transportation in other cities about 30 minutes out from my destination solely in a leisure setting. But usually leave via Uber/ Lyft. And home from the airport by Uber/ Lyft. The competition is Uber/ Lyft. Who wants to walk a quarter mile/ half mile home with suitcases from a trolley stop? So at $2 x 10M trips just to go to Santa Fe Depot, you’re at 20M x 100 years before recouping 2 Billion cost before any maintenance/ personnel. Trolley ridership alone has risen to 39.6 million trips. Just doesn’t seem like well spent money.
Silly that the trolley doesn’t serve the airport. Absolutely ridiculous.
And no line to the beach either? Doesn’t make any sense.
The “last mile” is already DONE. From downtown (every 15 minutes – stops at Terminal 1, Terminal 2E, Terminal 2W) and Old Town – free airport shuttle. With a trolley, you still have the problem of people from ALL OVER THE CITY driving to whatever trolley station they board, and parking their cars for an extended period of time while they’re traveling. You think a trolley is going to make the same 3 stops at the Terminal? No. It will make one stop probably near the new parking lots, and have a shuttle to the terminals. No need to analyze this any further. You just need airport-specific destination MTS buses at several outlying bus routes, like Rancho Penasquitos, Convoy, Del Mar, etc. The “last mile” is not the problem.
A location for a transit stop/station was included as part of the on-going Terminal 1 replacement. No construction was proposed, just a reservation of a site for a station.
You point out the advantage of a bus over a fixed rail system: flexibility, and the ability to provide more than one stop.
Your proposal for direct to airport bus routes has been implemented for years at LAX through its Flyaway buses,with routes from Union Station and Van Nuys. I’ve used the Union station stop, taking the train to LA and then the Flyaway bus to LAX. Not the quickest way to go, but it worked and I didn’t have to drive or pay for parking.