Supervisor Jim Desmond

SANDAG Update

Written by
July 15, 2022

SANDAG Update

In December 2021, SANDAG passed its regional transportation plan. As you may know, the plan called for $165 billion to be spent on public transit. In order to pay for their ambitious project, SANDAG wants to include three tax increases. Also, most controversial, they wanted to charge people for every mile they drive in San Diego County. 

After public outcry, SANDAG passed the per-mile plan but announced they would look for alternative ways to fund their plan. They announced in December 2021, that they would report back within 6 months with a new funding mechanism. However, just last week, SANDAG announced they needed more time (next spring) to look at other alternatives. In the meantime, the per-mile tax is still part of their plan.

While the per-mile tax remains a contentious part of their proposal, SANDAG still plans to change 819 miles of lanes within San Diego’s freeways into toll lanes. 

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Recent responses

  • The priority for commuter transportation should be our highways and roadways, not public transit, which is only used by less than 5% of all commuters and has no rational path to ever reach even half the commuters. In short, fix and improve our roads and absolutely no more additional toll roads. Stop increasing funding for nonsensical public transit projects. That is not what we need in San Diego County.
  • Sandag has got to go. They work against us.
  • Have you noticed how current MTS and NCTD buses, trains and trolleys are wrapped in advertisements? If you have, you probably have figured out that this expensive transportation system that SANDAG has developed, has such low ridership that wrapping these vehicles has been used to prevent people from seeing what few riders they have.

    How many of MTS and NCTD vehicles are non-combustion vehicles? Support vehicles, staff vehicles. Not many.

    How do SANDAG members and staff get to and from work? Do they use public transportation? What percentage?

    Fix the Coaster and Amtrak railways first. Move them away from the eroding coast.

    What is the total salary costs of SANDAG staff? How much does the Egyptian in charge of SANDAG make? Does he and his family use public transportation or is this a “don’t do as I do, do as a say” situation like John Kerry and Al Gore?

    Get off your high horse SANDAG. Voters need to rein our politicians in. We have already paid for the roads and maintenance and continue to have our taxes increased.

    A NON-ELECTED BOARD LIKE SANDAG SHOULD NOT DICTATE WHAT ‘WE THE PEOPLE’ SHOULD BE DOING.

    My opinion, decrease our gas taxes, support commerce and small businesses. Don’t force tax payers and VOTERS, to obey politicians like you are parenting out of control children.

    If SANDAG recommends it, it should be up to the voters, not your arbitrary magic wand and dictatorship.
  • I think adding toll lanes on our highways in San Diego is not the answer to getting money to improve public transportation use or fixing our messed up roads!