SAN DIEGO — SANDAG hosted its first-ever community fair Sunday at Seaport Village in order to showcase the projects they’re working on throughout the San Diego region. It was a family-friendly event with food, fun, and plenty to do for the kiddos.
“We’re having a wonderful time,” said Faith Kennedy, who brought her two daughters. “We’ve got some face-painting, some snow cones, some popcorn.”
The public was invited to the free event that took place from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Innovative transportation concepts from three firms, chosen by SANDAG, were presented on stage to the public for the first time.
One of the ideas was a cross-border trolley concept by the Cordoba Corporation, that would extend one mile on an elevated guideway from San Ysidro into Tijuana.
“I think a project like this will be very well-received by members of the public and especially by commuters who endure those two, three, seven-hour border waits every morning to get to their destinations, to get to school, to get to work, to get to their place of business,” said Jacqueline Reynoso with Binational Mobility Solutions Partners. “This solution has been needed for decades.”
Another finalist, Beep, Inc., proposed a network of autonomous electric shuttles that would circulate neighborhoods and connect people to and from existing transit.
“How many times have you gotten off a form of public transit and said, ‘Oh, I wish it could take me just a little bit farther to another key destination,’” said Racquel Asa, Chief Marketing Officer for Beep, Inc. “The goal here is to make that connection, so now you’ll be that much closer to where you want to go.”
The third firm was Cavnue, a company proposing next-generation technology for freeway lanes, much like the I-15 Express, but using added sensors to assist driverless vehicles.
“We have sensors that we’re putting along the road so that we can see the entire road and then be able to provide what’s happening on the road and our understanding back to the vehicles themselves,” said Mark Delavergne, Vice President of External Affairs and Project Development at Cavnue.
So which of these concepts might actually become a reality over the next decade?
“If we feel like the projects are really ready and they are going to be good partners and help us finance the projects, then we’re ready to move forward with partnership agreements with any or all of the firms,” said Antoinette Meier, Senior Director of Regional Planning at SANDAG.
To view the full innovative presentations on SANDAG’s YouTube channel, go here.
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