SAN DIEGO — California is awarding grant funding to underserved communities in San Diego in an effort to connect these places to major highways and boulevards.
The pilot grant program is called "Reconnecting Communities: Highways to Boulevards," abbreviated as "RCN:H2B." California's Secretary of Transportation, Toks Omishakin, Caltrans' Director Tony Tavares, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria were in attendance among community-based representatives as well as agency partner awardees.
"The RCN:H2B Program, funded through Governor Newsom’s historic clean transportation infrastructure package in the 2022-23 state budget and first proposed in the Climate Action Plan for Transportation Infrastructure, seeks to transform underused highways that divided underserved communities into multimodal corridors and vibrant public spaces," Caltrans said in a media advisory.
This program seeks to right the wrongs of past infrastructure planning that has splintered communities by dividing them among large freeways.
Now, community members are working with Caltrans on projects to reshape or refit the area and how traffic flows. This could include more green space, community spaces, or transportation that better fits community needs.
"Caltrans will help the selected communities work from concept to project delivery on a community-driven vision to reconnect their neighborhoods with projects that address historic transportation inequities, connect to transit, housing, jobs, and parks/green space and other community priorities," the organization said in a press release.