The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System is considering rerouting a portion of an express line in Imperial Beach, following a monthslong debate about public safety, nuisances in residential areas and access to public transportation within the small coastal community.
Rapid 227 enters city limits through Imperial Beach Boulevard, then runs north on Third Street and loops back to the boulevard via Palm Avenue and Seacoast Drive. The proposed route would swap Third Street, a two-lane residential street with several dips, with Ninth Street, a four-lane street with no dips. If adopted, the changes to Ninth Street would include two to four buses per hour between 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. and use some existing bus stops.
MTS is accepting public feedback through March 22.
The transit authority has heard from several residents that the buses on Third Avenue had become an obnoxious nuisance and that MTS had done a poor job consulting with them before launching the service in October. They are too loud, block driveways, pass too frequently with too few passengers, and obstruct coastal views. So, the agency sought the City Council's help in gathering the public's thoughts on switching to Ninth Street.
There was no shortage of feedback.
Late last month, the City Council heard from several residents who were either in support of the changes or who called for the express line to be eliminated.
"This is a small community and it's only four square miles," said Antoinette Gutierrez, a Third Street resident. "So, we don't need a 60-foot large bus that carries 72 passengers anywhere in Imperial Beach."
Another resident said he was fed up with buses passing by his home at night and lighting up his living room every 15 minutes.
Ilian Sandoval, who also lives on Third Street, said the buses aren't so bad and that the service is far too important to get rid of it.
"I, myself, grew up dependent on public transportation," she said. "The only reason I was able to make it to college, to get my college degree that helped me get out of poverty, was the bus."
Gibran Sanchez agreed. He said the express line goes "beyond merely accommodating residents, students and commuters. It also grants access to our beach areas and employment opportunities for individuals who don't own cars."
Mayor Paloma Aguirre and her council colleagues said they heard Third Street residents' concerns but believed the line was too new and beneficial to advise MTS to remove it.
"I frankly am here because of public transit," said Aguirre, who added that she took the bus to San Diego for college and to Chula Vista for work while living in Imperial Beach.
Councilmember Jack Fisher said it will be MTS' responsibility "to make sure that taxpayers' money is used wisely and that the feedback that they get from the communities is understood and to make sure that whenever we put a Rapid route in the community that it's working."
The Rapid 227 was designed to make it easier to connect the communities of Otay Mesa, Nestor, and Imperial Beach with the Iris Avenue Transit Center. Served by all-electric buses, it's also a key, first step in the agency's plan to make its fleet all-electric by 2040. Since its launch, the express line has seen about 2,500 riders and 10 percent are within Imperial Beach, according to agency figures.
This story originally appeared in San Diego Union-Tribune.
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