MexicoTed - 7-5-2016 at 10:09 PM
By Sandra Dibble
SAN YSIDRO — With 14 new lanes, a long-awaited U.S. Customs and Border Protection inspection facility for pedestrians coming into the United States at
the San Ysidro Port of Entry is scheduled to open on July 15.
Known as PedWest, the facility will give border-crossers a new option when entering San Ysidro from Tijuana on foot. They will be able to decide
whether to cross on the eastern side of the vehicle lanes, as they currently do, or enter through the new facility on the port’s western side.
“We are going to be really changing how pedestrians cross the border,” said Anthony Kleppe, of the U.S. General Services Administration, which is
overseeing reconstruction of the busy port, a multiphase, multiyear $741 million project scheduled for completion in 2019.
Kleppe, the regional land port of entry program manager for the GSA, was among a number of officials leading a tour of PedWest on Thursday. In the
coming days, authorities plan campaigns to promote awareness of the facility.
photo
The changes directly impact some 20,000 northbound pedestrians who cross on a daily basis through San Ysidro, according to the latest figures from
CBP, the agency that operates the port. Peak waiting times in recent years have stretched to two hours or more for pedestrians.
For the immediate future, the western side of the border will only accommodate northbound pedestrians. Mexico’s federal government expects to complete
construction of its inspection facility for southbound crossers by the end of the year, said Luis Del Moral González of the federal agency known as
INDAABIN, Mexico’s equivalent of the GSA. But it remained unclear when the facility will begin processing travelers.
The opening of PedWest means that there will be two northbound pedestrian entrances, both operating 24 hours a day, and both with separate “Sentri”
lanes for pre-cleared travelers and “Ready” lanes for those with U.S. passport cards and other radio-frequency-enabled documents. Both will be able to
process handicapped travelers.
PedWest was also designed with a lane that can accommodate bicyclists, though it will not be for their exclusive use.
PedWest’s launching is seen as the critical first step in the reconstruction of the port’s pedestrian infrastructure. Its opening allows for the
demolition of the current 14-lane pedestrian inspection facility on the port’s eastern side to make way for a new 20-lane pedestrian entrance there
that is scheduled to open in 2019.
In the interim, travelers on the eastern side will be processed through a provisional six-lane facility.
It remains unclear whether the opening of the new lanes will reduce waiting times for pedestrians. CBP “will commit at a minimum to providing the same
level of service we’re providing today,” said Pete Flores, director of the agency’s San Diego field office.
One factor that could make some pedestrians reluctant to use the facility could be the distance — six-tenths of a mile — between PedWest and the
border trolley station, which is near the exit of the eastern pedestrian crossing. According to the Metropolitan Transit System, which operates the
trolley, about half the northbound pedestrian crossers board the trolley at San Ysidro.
Adjacent to PedWest and opening on the same day will be the new Virginia Avenue Transit Center, a multimodal facility designed to organize traffic. It
will accommodate buses, taxis, pedicabs, and drop-offs and pickups by private vehicles.
Pedestrians entering San Ysidro through PedWest will be able to use their trolley tickets for a bus to the San Ysidro trolley stop at no extra cost.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jun/30/pedwest-crossing-opens-next-month/
wilderone - 7-16-2016 at 09:03 AM
So, news is, the new Pedwest opened yesterday. Here's the thing. US Border Patrol stated on July 5:
"It remains unclear whether the opening of the new lanes will reduce waiting times for pedestrians. CBP 'will commit at a minimum to providing the
same level of service we’re providing today,'" said Pete Flores, director of the agency’s San Diego field office.
And on July 15, they said:
The opening of PedWest, which expands the number of lanes available to process pedestrians from 14 to 20, has raised hopes that their long wait times
at peak crossing periods will go down. But U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials have said they expect to maintain the current level of
service.
So they have 14 new lanes to use, but only 8 of them will be used at peak times. At peak times still under-utilized to the detriment of border
crossers. Sounds to me like CBP is steadfast in its intention to keep up long lines despite millions of taxpayer dollars being spent.
This attitude is just wrong. I think Pete Flores has some 'splainin to do.
Also, after you cross, it's about 1/2 mi. to the trolley station. You can take a bus - for $2.25? - and wait for it - use the same ticket on the
trolley.
SFandH - 7-16-2016 at 09:13 AM
Looks like there are two threads that need combining.
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=83509#pid1040...