HELP MID-COAST TROLLEY REACH ITS HUGE POTENTIAL
The Mid-Coast Trolley is a monumental achievement. The $2.2 billion investment integrates several areas along San Diego’s coastline into the larger trolley system, providing access to areas once virtually inaccessible to residents and tourists without cars. If you take the Blue Line from the UC San Diego campus around 5 p.m. on a Tuesday, you will find yourself in a full trolley car with no space for seating. The ridership we see as transit riders is reflected in data from MTS’ 2022 financial year report. Despite the Mid-Coast Trolley’s success, significant obstacles remain that prevent it from realizing its full potential.
Many popular destinations adjacent to the Mid-Coast Trolley lack infrastructure that would allow Mid-Coast riders to seamlessly arrive at their destinations once they get off the trolley. It is akin to building a freeway without adequate on- and off-ramps. The freeway may pass by where you want to go, but without the necessary ramps, you cannot actually make it to your desired destination. Improving bus and pedestrian connections would go a long way towards maximizing the Mid-Coast Trolley.
Many of the Mid-Coast Trolley stations are challenging for riders to access without a car. Even though bus connections are sometimes available, the frequency often does not match the frequency of the trolley. Transit riders in San Diego and across the nation rank frequency and speed as their top concerns.
Take Balboa Avenue station, for example. The Route 27 bus only comes twice per hour. That means riders may have to wait 30 minutes for the bus to come, or even more if it is running late. Make no mistake, Route 27 is no backwater route. It travels down Garnet Avenue, one of the busiest streets in Pacific Beach. Furthermore, buses like the one used on the route can be very slow when moving, often getting stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic.
Similarly, the Mid-Coast Trolley Extension connects to many bus routes at the UTC Transit Center. Among those are the 41 and the 105, which connect the University City and Clairemont communities. These buses are often stuck in heavy traffic on Genesee Avenue at peak hours. Workers and students who travel on these buses must endure long commute times and unreliable service as a result.
Innovative solutions such as dedicated bus lanes, where buses use exclusive lanes marked by paint, and signal priority, where special traffic signals at intersections prioritize oncoming buses, can increase bus speeds while also decreasing wait times at stops. Such proven solutions are relatively inexpensive and effective, allowing buses to breeze through traffic congestion. Not only that, transit-only lanes can move more than twice as many people as ordinary vehicle travel lanes.
While some bus routes near the trolley have very nice shelters, others have no bench or shelter at all. Adding well-lit bus shelters with seating gives riders a comfortable place to wait for the bus.
Pedestrian access also needs improvement, as pedestrian connections to nearby amenities are often indirect, unsafe and unfriendly. For example, the Clairemont Drive station is located less than half a mile from Mission Bay. Even so, there is no good way for a trolley rider to walk to Mission Bay from this station.
Ironically, this station does not even give riders access to the road it is named after. Only a steep, narrow staircase connects Morena Boulevard to Clairemont Drive, a nightmare for wheelchair users and parents with strollers. Even if a rider makes it up there, walking along Clairemont Drive is far from pleasant. A narrow sidewalk on the overpass forces pedestrians heading to Mission Bay to walk alongside cars traveling at high speeds as they exit and enter the freeway. The Tecolote Road station, also close to Mission Bay, presents similar challenges.
Within University City, streets are wide and unfriendly to pedestrians. Long crosswalks across major roads like La Jolla Village Drive are dangerous and scary for pedestrians, particularly for older people and people with disabilities. Street treatments like curb extensions, high-visibility crosswalks and longer crossing times protect vulnerable pedestrians. Additionally, widened and better-lit sidewalks can also provide safety and comfort.
All of this goes to show that the newest extension to the trolley is important but is only a piece of the larger puzzle. Dedicated bus lanes, signal priority, increased service frequency and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure would be critical additions. They would truly allow the Mid-Coast Trolley to realize its full potential. After all, doesn’t “America’s Finest City” also deserve the finest public transit system?
Defazio Farrell lives in University Heights. in North Park. They both are founding members of the public transit advocacy group RideSD.