San Diegans have a unique, high-tech opportunity to influence the the future of public transit in the region via a free online tool that lets users “shop” for their preferred projects.
The Metropolitan Transit System is hosting the Vision Builder Challenge as part of its Elevate SD 2020 campaign, which is expected to result in a transit revenue measure for voters to consider on the November 2020 ballot.
“Over the past 18 months MTS has been studying the current transportation landscape, developing planning scenarios and implementing a broad community engagement effort,” said Chief Executive Officer Paul Jablonski. “We’ve learned a lot from residents about their transportation challenges and the need for immediate solutions.”
“The Vision Builder is the next step of public engagement and will help us formulate a package of transit improvements for our board to consider early next year,” he said.
The tool is set up as an online shopping experience:
- There is a total budget of 1,000 “coins” to spend
- Estimated coin values have been assigned to different projects
- Each project has a description page with pros and cons, scores for carbon emissions reductions, and ridership estimates
- Desired projects can be selected and added to a virtual shopping cart
- When satisfied with a project list, participants can submit their vision for transit’s future
The 17 projects on the list were compiled after a series of public meetings. Among the ones that can be chosen are:
- Trolley to the airport
- Purple Line trolley from the border to Kearny Mesa
- 24-hour service
- On demand transit
- More Rapid Bus routes
- Electric buses
Submissions through the online tool will be accepted through Nov. 30. The MTS board will then decide which projects to include in a ballot measure in early 2020.
