BajaNomad - San Ysidro Border Border Wait

San Ysidro Border Border Wait

elgatoloco - 7-21-2016 at 09:30 AM

San Ysidro Border Border Wait

Your tax dollars hard at work.

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/12/commute...

sancho - 7-21-2016 at 10:38 AM

I couldn't get the link to work, but the 750 mil. dollar remodel of
the San Ysidro crossing, I assume to make crossing more efficient, seems to have no positive effect at all. As I remember,
just after it was complete, the TJ traffic lane vendors were giving
up because the vehicle wait to get back into the US was so short. What happened?

Here is the link

JakeinVegas - 7-21-2016 at 10:59 AM

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/12/commute...

elgatoloco - 7-21-2016 at 11:16 AM

Quote: Originally posted by sancho

I couldn't get the link to work, but the 750 mil. dollar remodel of
the San Ysidro crossing, I assume to make crossing more efficient, seems to have no positive effect at all. As I remember,
just after it was complete, the TJ traffic lane vendors were giving
up because the vehicle wait to get back into the US was so short. What happened?

Good question. Viva Sentri! :saint:

SFandH - 7-21-2016 at 11:28 AM

Quote: Originally posted by sancho

I couldn't get the link to work, but the 750 mil. dollar remodel of the San Ysidro crossing, I assume to make crossing more efficient, seems to have no positive effect at all.

The ability to handle more cars efficiently was to be accomplished by the addition of a second inspection booth in each line. They did that but they haven't manned the second booths.

Good plan, poor execution.

There are the same number of lines as before the remodel. Wait times are going up because of more and more and more people.

I bet security has been improved with the new surveillance gear in each line, RFID readers, and no doubt new computer systems.

The last time I crossed the inspector asked me how my new prescription medicine was working. :lol:

[Edited on 7-21-2016 by SFandH]

Here is the link

JakeinVegas - 7-21-2016 at 12:53 PM

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jul/12/commute...

Ateo - 7-21-2016 at 06:13 PM

I can't even imagine crossing that border every day for work without Sentri. And that's coming from a guy who drives on average, 110 miles a day to commute for work. That line would stress me the flock out.

Wait, I probably spend the same amount of time in my car as those who cross from TJ each day, and maybe sitting in line I could actually be productive checking work emails etc........

[Edited on 7-22-2016 by Ateo]

WhackAMolE - 7-21-2016 at 11:29 PM

Quote: Originally posted by sancho

It was great while it lasted. I imagine people who'd been going to Otay or Tecate came back to San Ysidro once they heard about the improvements, so it all averaged out and soon returned to its usual miserable state.

I do think it's better than it was. I take the Ready lane and last year It was 90 to 120 minutes in the summer and this year it's only 60 to 90 minutes from the Nissan place to the checkpoint. It gets better after the summer too.

Anyway the vendors are back to making a living out there. I suppose that's the natural scheme of things, it didn't seem right to put them all out of work.

[Edited on 7-22-2016 by WhackAMolE]

Bajahowodd - 7-23-2016 at 05:02 PM

Remembering when I just had to have my California DL and had a wait of maybe 20 minutes, I really have to question what all that security, or so-called security has accomplished. My wife and I used to spend weekends in Ensenada probably two times a month in the old days. But a three hour wait at the border for a two day vacation is not what we want. Fail.

woody with a view - 7-23-2016 at 05:05 PM

unless all 24 gates are open, with double booths, what is the pupose of spending all that coin?

Pescador - 7-25-2016 at 09:01 AM

Ok, here is a question for those of you in the know about Tijuana. What is the fastest way to get to the airport. The road that comes in by Otay Mesa seems really clogged with traffic headed to the border. I have never come in the other way, but it looks like it might be less traffic.

gsbotanico - 7-25-2016 at 10:36 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Pescador

Ok, here is a question for those of you in the know about Tijuana. What is the fastest way to get to the airport. The road that comes in by Otay Mesa seems really clogged with traffic headed to the border. I have never come in the other way, but it looks like it might be less traffic.

Are you asking about getting to the Tijuana airport coming from the south? In that case the roads that go to Otay Mesa are the best way to go. There is simply no way to avoid the heavy traffic. The alternative of going through downtown Tijuana and approaching the airport from the west is even worse.

From the south to Otay Mesa you can either use Blvd. 2000 or the turnoff to the Libramiento on the old highway (it's signed) just before the road starts to drop into the center of Tijuana. This take you through the notorious cinco/diez intersection, now bridged, but there's a mile or two of bad congestion to cross the train tracks and river to begin the ascent to Otay Mesa. You end up very close to the airport. This is the way I would go, avoiding rush hour traffic times.

Bajahowodd - 7-25-2016 at 03:45 PM

I will ask once again. What does this so-called increased border security have to show for it with respect to drugs and terrorists? Can anyone point me to a story? Going from a CDL and a 20 minute wait, to a passport and a three hour wait is ridiculous.

SFandH - 7-25-2016 at 04:25 PM

I cross at San Ysidro frequently and have been for years. It didn't go from a 20 minute wait to a 3 hour wait. It's been bad at the busiest times forever and if they hadn't made the improvements of the past several years it would be much worse now because of the increased traffic. I got across in the Ready Lane at SY in 10 minutes this past Sunday morning. The regular lanes were probably 1/2 hour and the Sentri lanes just a few minutes.

By Sunday afternoon the regular lanes may have been 2 or 3 hours, Ready lane maybe 1/2 that and the Sentri lanes maybe 30 minutes.

It's a fact that eventho many more people are crossing, overall things are better than they were due to the re-construction. And the new rules "requiring" proof of citizenship is a good thing. I know you can still get across with only a driver's license. The folks that do that are slowing things down.

All lanes move faster if people have RFID citizenship documents.

I also cross frequently in the regular lanes with a passenger who doesn't have "Ready" documents yet. That's usually mid-week at about 10 AM, 1 to 1.5 hours.

Plus, eventho they haven't manned the new tandem second booths yet, the booths are there and when the budget provides for staffing, even more volume will be able to cross in reasonable time.

I don't have any references but I'd bet there is a lot less contraband and illegals than before getting through the border at San Ysidro. Many don't even try anymore because of the tighter security. IMO

The reconstruction is a good thing for pedestrians and drivers. It would be absolutely horrible otherwise.

Now what's needed is another crossing at the north end of the toll road.

[Edited on 7-26-2016 by SFandH]

fishbuck - 7-26-2016 at 11:29 PM

Does a Passport book type work in ready lane. I looked it up and the answer I find is no. It won't read it.

SFandH - 7-27-2016 at 05:53 AM

"To use the Ready Lanes you will need a WHTI-compliant, RFID-enabled cards approved by the Department of Homeland Security.

These include: the U.S. Passport Card; the Enhanced Driver's License (EDL); the Enhanced Tribal Card (ETC); Trusted Traveler Cards (NEXUS, SENTRI, Global Entry and FAST cards); the new Enhanced Permanent Resident Card (PRC) or new Border Crossing Card (BCC)."

https://help.cbp.gov/app/answers/detail/a_id/1211/~/ready-la...

mtgoat666 - 7-27-2016 at 06:08 AM

Quote: Originally posted by fishbuck

Does a Passport book type work in ready lane. I looked it up and the answer I find is no. It won't read it.

Nope! It's the regular slow lane for you!

mtgoat666 - 7-27-2016 at 06:33 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Bajahowodd

I will ask once again. What does this so-called increased border security have to show for it with respect to drugs and terrorists? Can anyone point me to a story? Going from a CDL and a 20 minute wait, to a passport and a three hour wait is ridiculous.

It's probably working, according to whatever warped metric homeland security measures itself. Of course it is also hindering local economies, but homeland security is not judged on that metric!

the politicians that underfund the border patrol do not care, because their donors cross border in private jets, and the megacorporations are still able to import their goods to walmart. Duncan hunter and others that profess to focus on border issues, they don't care, they find they get more votes by talking bad about Mexicans and immigrants, and they don't get votes by making it easier for nomads to cross the border.

P.s. Don't vote for trump. He hates Mexico and Mexicans. He hates trade with Mexico. He wants to close the border.

[Edited on 7-27-2016 by mtgoat666]

Ateo - 7-27-2016 at 06:50 AM

Talked to a friend who crosses north bound yesterday. He said it took him 3 hours to cross the other day, and that was at 2:30AM.

What good is double booths if they ain't staffed?

Contractors made some money off this construction but the border crossers keep getting screwed.

I'm gonna email my crappy congressman Issa.

SFandH - 7-27-2016 at 07:39 AM

Quote: Originally posted by Ateo

What good is double booths if they ain't staffed?

No good except the capability is there and ready to go. Perhaps they'll fund the necessary staff.

Vote accordingly.

SFandH - 7-27-2016 at 07:56 AM

I check the website linked below before I attempt to cross.

Right now the numbers (of cars, the average time per car are my estimates) are:

Izquierdo (regular lanes): 185, 40 seconds per car
Ready Lane: 510, 20 seconds per car
Sentri: 220, 10 seconds per car, that's a guess, I never use Sentri

The website is updated every 1/2 hour Monday through Saturday. No Sunday data.

http://wp.1045radiolatina.com/garitas/

Radio Latina is 104.5 and they frequently give the numbers but it's rapid fire Spanish, tough for me to comprehend.

I've looked at all the other websites out there. This is the most accurate, the others usually substantially underestimate times.

Another good website is the camera view but you need to know how to interpret what you're seeing. It also gives wait times but I think they're underestimated.

http://www.bordertraffic.com/California-Baja/San-Ysidro-Tiju...

[Edited on 7-27-2016 by SFandH]

Today

tehag - 7-27-2016 at 07:34 PM

San Ysidro, Tuesday, 7/27, 2hrs 51min

BajaBreak - 7-29-2016 at 08:06 PM

During my 3 hr wait, starting late on a Saturday morning, I found that all lanes were moving unusually slow, compared to what I can remember in the past. 10 cars to go took over 30 minutes, and I don't believe any car spent less than a couple minutes at the booth. It may not sound that bad, but it moved ridiculously slow.

They better be finding more of what they're looking for! Or maybe just clocking overtime...

SFandH - 7-29-2016 at 11:03 PM

Quote: Originally posted by BajaBreak

10 cars to go took over 30 minutes, and I don't believe any car spent less than a couple minutes at the booth.

That's much slower than what I've recently experienced (less than a minute per car). Perhaps they are having computer system problems.

I certainly hope it isn't the new normal.

What happened when you got to the booth? A lot of questions or was the officer just waiting for his info system to respond? What took 2 or 3 minutes?

[Edited on 7-30-2016 by SFandH]

DENNIS - 7-30-2016 at 07:04 AM

It's a CBP routine when they want more money. They let the public state their case with loud complaints of poor efficiency which can only be improved with more funding.
This being the election year from hell is the perfect time to solicite candidate promises.

gsbotanico - 7-30-2016 at 07:14 AM

Try this Mexican website: http://www.garitacenter.com/ I find it more accurate. At the upper left, where it now says "Reporte de Garitas actualizado hace 3 minutos," is the last time it was updated.

DENNIS - 7-30-2016 at 08:20 AM

These "wait time" sites don't mean much unless you live close to the border.....Ensenada for instance. Conditions change rapidly.

SFandH - 7-30-2016 at 08:21 AM

gsbotanico,

See if you can get a handle on how much time is spent per car when you cross. I can usually get a good count of the cars ahead of me as I get closer to the booth, maybe 10 or 15 cars away. Time that and calculate the average time.

If it's up to 2 or 3 minutes per car like BajaBreak estimated then the waits are going to be horrible. The average time per car is a crucial number.

DENNIS - 7-30-2016 at 08:25 AM

Interesting link at the bottom of the page. Hard to give the site much credence for their reports:

Amigos de GaritaCenter en TijuanaDirectorio Playas de Tijuana
Educación Sexual
Ciudad Tijuana

Ateo - 7-30-2016 at 08:37 AM

Complain to your elected officials! I sent Issa an email. Haven't received a response.................

I have Sentri so it doesn't matter in my life, but I care about you other poor souls. :biggrin:

SFandH - 7-30-2016 at 11:19 AM

Just spoke to friend who crossed northbound yesterday afternoon and he said the RFID card reader wasn't working, at least not in the lane he was in. So there's a possible explanation for the slowdown.

The website I use is reporting the following number of cars now at SY.

Regular: 175
Ready: 500
Sentri: 120

Ready and Sentri unusually high.

Punked by CBE?

AKgringo - 7-30-2016 at 01:50 PM

It would have been interesting to know if the agent planting the stash in your vehicle was going to give you a 'get out of jail' card to present when the contraband is found.

I can see multiple ways that could go wrong! Remember a couple of years ago, a person who bought a vehicle from a government auction had no idea it had been seized while smuggling drugs. When he took it to Mexico, more drugs were located that were overlooked in the first bust.

BajaBreak - 7-30-2016 at 02:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by AKgringo

It would have been interesting to know if the agent planting the stash in your vehicle was going to give you a 'get out of jail' card to present when the contraband is found.

I can see multiple ways that could go wrong! Remember a couple of years ago, a person who bought a vehicle from a government auction had no idea it had been seized while smuggling drugs. When he took it to Mexico, more drugs were located that were overlooked in the first bust.

I asked him if it would take long, and that I was just trying to get home for a family birthday. He seemed to feel bad for having to ask me. I told him sure, go ahead, but he said no it's fine, have a good day. I really didn't want that dog running up to my truck in the future, thinking he'd be getting a milk bone everytime!