SANDAG's Priority is Speed over Safety
- SANDAG will be gaining significant time savings by double-tracking the segment between Solana Beach and Sorrento Valley. SANDAG's 2023 I-5 Alignment is 84 seconds faster than the current travel time. It needs to be studied.
- The criteria that SANDAG used to eliminate their original I-5 alignment from further analysis was severely flawed. Safety Improvements was the primary goal for moving the train tracks, which SANDAG defined as "removing the at-grade crossing" at Coast Blvd. All of the alignments accomplish that goal. What is disappointing is that SANDAG weighted Travel Time (#2) more important than Environmental Protections (#5) and Community Impacts (#11). If SANDAG used their current Project Objectives to evaluate this option, it would still be under consideration.
- If safety is one of the Project Objectives in moving the train off the eroding bluffs, it makes no sense to route a freight train carrying hazardous materials & toxic chemicals into and through residential neighborhoods. An I-5 alignment is the safer option.
- An I-5 alignment requires that SANDAG obtain a permit from Caltrans, which will require considerable effort and paperwork. They assume that opposition from community stakeholders will be easier to overcome.
- SANDAG's cost estimates are misleading. The preliminary analysis from 2017 included both Capital Costs and Right of Way Costs. The most recent analysis does not include Right of Way costs, which are a significant portion of the overall estimate. An I-5 alignment reduces ROW costs by eliminating eminent domain, environmental lawsuits, land acquisition costs, and ongoing lawsuits from homeowners who are experiencing noise and vibration, damage to their homes and environmental pollution.
- This Realignment Project will not move forward without federal funding. "The USDOT is committed to using the full range of our authority, as well as the funding available to us from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to improve safety on our railroads." Enough said? "Profit and expediency must never outweigh the safety of the American people," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "We at USDOT are doing everything in our power to improve rail safety, and we insist that the rail industry do the same."
- The majority of funding for this project will come from the federal government. The USDOT Grant Evaluation Criteria clearly states that SAFETY will be a primary component of every project approved for funding.
- An I-5 alignment would result in a faster construction timeline. Fewer lawsuits would result in an earlier start date. A portal located away from homes allows for an accelerated construction schedule; there are fewer limits on work hours because they are not tunneling under homes. Federal funding would be more readily available, as funding is closely tied to safety.
- The Lagoon Tunnel I-5 Alignment is the most environmentally beneficial solution. There would be no need for a bridge over or across either lagoon. The north alignment to the I-5 works well with the proposal to site the south portal near the I-5 as well. Routing the freight train into the tunnel at both the north and south portals preserves the natural state of both the San Dieguito and Los Penasquitos Lagoons.
- The fairgrounds would see many benefits with the Lagoon Tunnel I-5 Alignment. A portal north of the fairgrounds places the track in a tunnel along the western perimeter of the fairgrounds, without impact to the surface operations of the fairgrounds. The Special Events Platform can be located anywhere along the route. The fairgrounds would enjoy a panoramic ocean view, with the complete removal of any bridge across the lagoon. The Del Mar Fairgrounds would become the ultimate oceanfront venue to host jazz and blues music festivals, food and wine festivals and other upscale events.
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SANDAG's Criteria for Analyzing the Alignments