Expansion of SENTRI lanes begins
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20050510-9...
By Diane Lindquist
May 10, 2005
SAN YSIDRO ? Work began yesterday on increasing the number of SENTRI fast-pass lanes at the San Ysidro border crossing and upgrading the technology
used in the program.
The project was announced two years ago but was not begun before the wait in the fee-based lanes grew to hours long at peak usage and the lines
occasionally became longer than those in the regular passenger-vehicle lanes.
"We hope it's done sooner rather than later," Vince Bond, local spokesman for U.S. Customs & Border Protection, said yesterday.
The agency expects that the two lanes being added at San Ysidro and a lane being created at Calexico will open this summer. Signs must be changed and
entry lanes altered on the Mexican side of the border before the new lanes become operational.
Additionally, technology that identifies a new generation of windshield-mounted transmitters will be installed.
A special SENTRI lane for pedestrians has been established at the San Ysidro crossing, and individuals who are cleared through a background check can
obtain a pass free of charge at the San Ysidro facility through the end of the year.
The SENTRI pass for passenger cars costs about $130.
Customs & Border Protection also is implementing a central processing system for the special fast-pass programs, which include SENTRI for
passenger cars and pedestrians at the U.S.-Mexico border, the FAST program for commercial cargo vehicles and NEXUS for passenger cars at the
U.S.-Canada border.
By the end of the year, Bond said, individuals will be able to sign up online for any of the programs.
Those in the SENTRI program will be able to use their passes at any of the designated lanes along the U.S.-Mexico border.
A total of 75,600 people are enrolled in the program. More than 60,000 of them are registered to use the SENTRI lanes at San Ysidro and Otay Mesa.
On average, 7,000 vehicles pass each day through San Ysidro's two SENTRI lanes, and 2,200 pass through the one lane at Otay Mesa.
The additional SENTRI lanes will reduce the number of regular, no-cost passenger car lanes at San Ysidro.
More than 900 people signed up for the local program in March and nearly 1,000 in April. Agents are expediting new applicants.
Bond said he didn't know if the agency plans to put a cap on the number of people enrolled in the program to ensure that backups will not occur again
once the new lanes are open.
Actions to expand and upgrade the local SENTRI program were praised by Rep. Bob Filner, D-San Diego, and representatives of several civic and
quasi-governmental organizations at a news conference yesterday at the San Ysidro crossing.
"The new SENTRI lanes are a step forward," Filner said. However, he added that "there has to be a more comprehensive approach. We're going little step
by little step, fighting for each one."
Gary Gallegos, executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments, said the government should set a goal that no passenger vehicle lanes,
not just the SENTRI lanes, should back up more than 15 minutes.
Federal officials and the recent Minuteman Project in Arizona have focused attention on stopping the flow of illegal immigrants across the border,
Filner noted.
"The mood in Washington is hostile to an efficient border," he said.
Plans to revamp and significantly expand the San Ysidro crossing and build a new East Otay Mesa crossing appear far from being realized. No schedule
has been implemented and no funds have been dedicated to the projects.
"This is the busiest border crossing anywhere in the world," Filner said. "Our economy, our cultures, our families depend on this."
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