Holiday travelers flood border
Holiday travelers flood border
Days before Christmas traditionally the worst
By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 24, 2006
TIJUANA – Jose Martinez and his family were bracing for a long wait at the San Ysidro border during this hectic weekend before Christmas.
JOHN GIBBINS / Union-Tribune
A vendor in Tijuana sold oatmeal, bread and hot chocolate to motorists waiting in line yesterday to get into the United States to visit family and
friends or get in some last-minute shopping.
Instead, their car was coasting along relatively fast yesterday morning. Within 15 minutes, they had driven past city hall and the cultural center and
had merged onto Paseo de los Heroes. With a little luck, they might be across the border in an hour, visiting stores to stock up on party supplies and
food for Christmas Eve dinner.
The family expected to spend about $300 at malls in Chula Vista and San Ysidro, and they had come prepared to wait several hours at the border, if
necessary, biding their time.
“We come up with games, like who can count the most Volkswagens,” Martinez said.
He and other border crossers are braving what is traditionally the most congested time of year as people make last-minute trips to go shopping in San
Diego-area malls or bring cars loaded with gifts to family reunions north of the border.
Angelica de Cima, public affairs officer with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, said the traffic at the San Ysidro port of entry rises
notably during the last few months of the year.
In the first 20 days of October, for example, there was an average of 42,700 vehicle crossings per day. During the same period in December, that total
had increased to 45,500. Numbers for the port of entry at Otay Mesa tend to stay about the same.
Wait times ebb and flow during the day and night, but it's not unusual for some border crossers to report waits as long as three hours.
At its peak, the border traffic winds through city streets and traffic circles in pretzellike maneuvers, straining Tijuana's transportation system.
The number of traffic police assigned to the San Ysidro border during this time of the year doubles to about 15.
Sometimes, tempers flare as drivers attempt to circumvent police tape put up to prevent people from cutting into lanes. Police detained eight people
for brawls or other acts of public disturbance in recent weeks, said Victor Franco Loza, transit police chief.
“People start to get desperate and look for ways to try and get into the lanes,” he said.
Some regular border crossers – who aren't part of the holiday rush crowd – learn to adapt to the situation.
Hector Vanegas, manager of border programs for the San Diego Association of Governments, said his wife, who works in Tijuana, has a fast-lane pass,
which is granted after a background check. But even that lane gets clogged after Thanksgiving as people head north around 6:30 p.m. to go holiday
shopping. To avoid waits of as long as an hour, she has had to leave earlier.
Vanegas said the situation emphasizes the fact that Mexican shoppers are a significant force in the San Diego-area economy.
A SANDAG survey determined that 63 percent of people who cross the border throughout the year are mainly going to shop. These border crossers spend on
average of $142 per trip, but during the holidays that amount increases to about $168, he said.
Viviana Ibañez, binational affairs manager with the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce's Mexico Business Center, said it's hard to say for sure
how much Mexican residents spend in the San Diego area. But studies have estimated spending to range from $1.5 billion to $3 billion.
Ibañez, who has a fast-lane pass, said she has also struggled in recent weeks with border waits. After one recent trip to Tijuana, she found that the
regular border wait traffic was so congested it had blocked her route to get to the fast lanes.
“I had to ask a police officer because you couldn't find it,” she said.
On the U.S. side, de Cima said authorities are doing their best to balance public security with the urgency of getting people across the border
quickly. During this time of the year, she said, they keep more lanes open for longer hours.
“The majority of border crossers are pretty educated with crossing the border, and they know what to expect this time of year,” she said.
One thing that would help, she said, is if people leave their gifts unwrapped until they get to their destinations north of the border: “Sometimes
people bring presents and we may have to know what's in them.”
Yesterday, many people were still thinking about shopping. Monica de la Paz said she planned on crossing the border to do some shopping at Fashion
Valley mall. But she had to pull over her car, after waiting 40 minutes, when it started to overheat. Several police officers were fiddling with the
motor and trying to help her get in touch with a mechanic.
“This is a nightmare,” she said.
As food vendors kept pace with the stop-and-go traffic, Tijuana police officers said they expected that the traffic would get worse before it got
better. Christmas Day's silent streets, with most people already at their destinations, would be their long-awaited gift.
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Anna Cearley: (619) 542-4595; anna.cearley@uniontrib.com
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