New southbound pedestrian crossing opens today at San Ysidro
From The San Diego Union Tribune
By Sandra Dibble
SAN YSIDRO - "Starting today, pedestrians walking into Mexico at San Ysidro have a new crossing.
Located just east of the port of entry, it replaces the existing pedestrian crossing that is at the port's western end and set to close on Thursday.
The new crossing is located a few hundred feet from the trolley station. "It's a straight shot, you don't have switchbacks, I'm anticipating an
improved experience for pedestrians to cross the border at this site," said Anthony Kleppe, senior asset manager with the General Services
Administration (GSA), the agency overseeing the $583 million expansion of San Ysidro.
At a news conference on Friday, Kleppe said that his agency is moving ahead on a new pedestrian crossing west of the existing port at Virginia Avenue.
Construction is expected to start in December 2013. The plan is by 2015 that pedestrians on both sides of the border would have two choices of where
to cross, he said. "Having two north- and southbound gates creates opportunities to be really creative in how we deliver transit options," Kleppe
said.
For pedestrians, the most pressing issue is not the southbound crossing, but the northbound one. It's not unusual to see long lines waiting to enter
the United States from Tijuana at San Ysidro's current pedestrian entry from Mexico, where the wait can extend to three hours.
While applauding the new southbound pedestrian crossing, Jason Wells, executive director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce, said a second crossing
is urgently needed, especially given the long northbound waits. "Three years is unacceptable for us," he said."
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.”
—Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada.” (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
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