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Traffic! What San Diego is Doing About the Problem

Traffic! What San Diego is Doing About the Problem

Anyone who has lived in San Diego for more than a few years will have noticed the traffic getting worse on our freeways and in our local neighborhoods. It is a real example of a growing problem- San Diego is a city busting at its’ seams and the infrastructure to support the city’s growth has not kept up. This translates into more congested freeways and less affordable living.

According to SANDAG it is predicted that the population is the area between Downtown and UTC will grow 19 percent by 2030. These neighborhoods are the highest in population density of anywhere in San Diego county.

The city solution is to work, however slowly, on its public transit. Last fall SANDAG began working on a project to extend the Blue Line Trolley service from Downtown San Diego to University City. Its stops will include a new one in Old Town, which will service the airport, UC San Diego and the UTC Mall.

Construction has begun on an expansion project on interstate 5 in North County San Diego. This project also includes improvements to the rail line. Completion of this project is expected to take up to 30 years and the funding for it has yet to be completely raised.

But things are changing. Store like JC Penny’s, Macy’s and other big box retailers are closing their doors as consumers move to online retail as a preferred way of shopping. This change is causing a need for more distribution space as products need to be closer to where people live in order to get it to them within an ever-tightening timeframe. We live in a time where are patience is so low that we can’t fathom waiting in line for a cup of coffee. And with Starbucks and others introducing mobile ordering and systems- we no longer have to.

But we still need to use our roads to commute to work, to visit family and friends and to enjoy San Diego’s many outdoor activities.

Of course, we can’t mention all this without including something on Autonomous cars. Volvo and Tesla are already putting these cars on the road and it is expected to revolutionize the automobile industry and other sectors including Real Estate. There will be less parking structures needed and far less accidents on roads due to the mitigation of human error.

I guess we will have to wait and see what comes first- faster roads from better public transit and wider freeways or autonomous vehicles. What is your bet?

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