One of the busiest pedestrian border crossings in the world is getting more congested and South County leaders are proposing a series of improvements.
A survey released Friday by the South County Economic Development Council found that pedestrians crossing the border at San Ysidro must wait an average of 61 minutes, up nine minutes since 2011.
Nearly 8 million pedestrians cross from Mexico into the United States through San Ysidro annually, and according to the new survey, half of them are U.S. citizens, and a third are crossing the border for work.
“Improving the San Ysidro Port of Entry’s infrastructure is essential to delivering a positive experience for those traveling across the border for school, work, shopping and tourism,” said Rep. Juan Vargas. “In addition to maintaining a secure border, we must invest in a more efficient border that will ultimately encourage economic growth in our region.”
Cindy Gompper-Graves, president and CEO of the council, outlined the following recommendations for reducing the congestion:
- Improve the public service training of Customs and Border Protection officers
- Increase the number of open lanes
- Manage the shift changes of CBP officers
- Improve signage
- Improve infrastructure on the Mexico side
- Improve pedestrian flow into the U.S. facility
The survey of 3,000 pedestrians took place between March 2015 and February 2016.
