🚧 Stop Funding Freeway Studies — Invest in Transit That Works

California has set bold climate goals: cutting greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2045. But when you look at how transportation dollars are spent, the math doesn’t add up.

Freeway expansions not only fail to solve congestion, but they actually increase traffic and emissions — a proven effect known as induced demand. Yet in San Diego, we’re still spending millions to plan for more of them.

Right now, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is preparing to spend $22.5 million in TransNet tax revenue on five freeway corridor studies:

• $8.31M – I-5 / I-805 HOV to Express Lanes Design

• $3.13M – I-15 / SR-78 HOV Connectors

• $3.19M – SR-78 / I-5 Express Lane Connector

• $2.13M – SR-52 Widening & Operations Study

• $5.77M – SR-67 Widening (Evacuation Route) Study

These studies are expensive, early-stage plans with no guaranteed construction and no immediate benefit to San Diegans. Worse, they’re out of step with California’s mandate to reduce vehicle miles traveled (VMT) — a cornerstone of statewide climate policy.

There’s a better option — and we can fund it today.

Instead of spending $22.5 million studying freeway expansions that may never happen, SANDAG could invest that money in ready-to-go transit improvements across the region:

• $8 million – Expand bus frequency across MTS and NCTD, delivering over 65,000 hours of new service on high-ridership routes.

• $3.7 million – Boost Blue Line trolley frequency to 7½-minute headways on weekdays — adding 26 trips and major crowding relief.

• $0.8 million – Add 16 weekend Blue Line trips, closing long wait gaps and improving service for workers and tourists alike.

• $2.3 million – Increase Green Line peak frequency, adding 20 weekday trips for faster access to SDSU, Mission Valley, and beyond.

• $3 million – Add over 1,300 annual COASTER and SPRINTER trips for expanded regional rail options.

• $3 million – Fund environmental review and design for five new Rapid corridors — putting them in position for federal Small Starts grants by 2027.

• $0.4 million – Launch all-door boarding pilots on Rapid 215 and 235 — cutting dwell time and improving speed by up to 25%.

• $0.3 million – Fully enable transit signal priority on Rapid 215, saving 2–3 minutes per trip on El Cajon Blvd.

• $1.5 million – Build 4.9 miles of quick-build bus-only lanes, including segments on College Ave, Park Blvd, and Broadway.

• $0.15 million – Install AB 917 bus lane enforcement cameras on 15 Rapid buses to improve compliance.

• $0.8 million – Set aside contingency funding for fuel cost, inflation, and implementation support.

These projects are fully legal under the TransNet ordinance, align with the Regional Transportation Plan, and could be funded with a simple RTIP/POP amendment — no voter approval required.

Let’s make transit better now — not decades from now.

This isn’t about being anti-car. It’s about using public money wisely, delivering actual improvements, and meeting climate goals San Diego has already committed to. We can’t afford to let $22.5 million sit in freeway studies while people wait 30 minutes for a bus.

Tell SANDAG:

Redirect the funds. Fund transit. Deliver results.