Check out this week's featured stories:
Our next Membership Mixer on September 19 at Civita!
Join Circulate San Diego for our next Membership mixer on September 12, hosted at Civita, at their beautiful residential recreation center. Civita is a walkable master-planned community in the heart of Mission Valley.
We will be joined for remarks from San Diego City Councilmember Scott Sherman, who has led on housing supply and accessory dwelling unit policy.
The event will also feature the release of our latest report on the impact of Facilitating Access to Coordinated Transportation (FACT), a nonprofit agency designated by SANDAG to coordinate public, nonprofit, private and other transportation services in San Diego County.
When: September 12, 2019 at 5:30pm - 7:30pm
Where: Civita Recreation Center, 2684 Community Lane, San Diego, CA 92108
National Senior Citizens Day in Chula Vista
The City of Chula Vista celebrated National Senior Citizens Day with Mayor Mary Salas, Councilmember Jill Galvez, and Circulate San Diego with a luncheon and proclamation on August 21, 2019. The event honored the city’s inaugural Senior of the Year with a surprise proclamation and included Circulate San Diego and the Norman Park Senior Center sharing information about senior services, focusing on mobility.
Circulate San Diego presented on our grant-funded Safe Routes for Seniors program through Kaiser Permanente, which focuses on mobility improvements for older adults in West Chula Vista. This program is important because:
- Nationally, seniors made 14 percent of their trips by foot in 2017
- In Chula Vista, people aged 55 and older have experienced an increase in pedestrian and bicyclists injuries since 2012
- The population of older adults is projected to grow by 194 percent in San Diego County from 2012 to 2035
If you have questions about the program or would like to provide your input about mobility barriers in West Chula Vista, please contact Jana Schwartz at [email protected]
Planning for Women – Women Walk PB
Last week we hosted a walk audit in Pacific Beach as part of our Planning for Women series. We want to thank those community members who joined us in Pacific Beach and shared their valuable community insight.
Here are just a few issues our participants highlighted:
- Visibility and Lighting were of greatest concern. This was found to be an issue on all streets except main corridors, such as Garnet Avenue, Cass Street, and Mission Avenue.
- Bars represent most of the night-time activity. This hinders the availability and perceptions of safety for more inclusive, family-oriented or older adult, activities.
- Lack of designated crosswalks adds to the perception of unsafe walking, especially on dark residential streets.
- Perception of dangerous drivers in combination with a lack of bike/ped infrastructure makes women feel unsafe walking at night. A common sentiment was shared that women in the community do not walk alone at night-time.
Do you live in East Village, North Park, City Heights, or Pacific Beach? Share your feedback on night-time safety with us: https://arcg.is/0XPuTi0
Traffic Calming Pop Up at Harbor Fest Demonstrates Safe Streets
Circulate brought our temporary traffic calming pop up to Harbor Fest to show how safe street improvements can be implemented across Chula Vista. We solicited feedback on what improvements residents would like to see to make streets safer. Chula Vista is currently undertaking important safety projects and plans such as installing traffic calming improvements on Broadway and developing an Active Transportation Plan.
Our pop up included a high visibility crosswalk, bulb-outs, and a parklet with a giant Connect Four game that families loved! We also brought a large visual survey for passersby to note their safe street project preferences. Our pop up event was funded by a generous grant from Kaiser Permanente.
MTS Fare Changes Begin September 1st
MTS is updating its fare structure starting on September 1st, 2019. Our Executive Director Colin Parent spoke about it with KPBS.
Changes to fare policies are often a mix of good and bad. As a general matter, as costs go up, agencies must either raise fares or reduce service to balance the books. Surveys of MTS riders show that 65% indicated they preferred higher fares over reduced service eventually fares. Still, agencies can make choices to minimize impacts to the most cost-sensitive riders.
On the Pros: MTS is keeping fares constant for those who purchase monthly fares. Costs are also reduced for Day Passes for youth passes and Senior Disabled Medical riders. Some redundant passes were also eliminated in in interest of simplicity and clarity.
On the Cons: MTS is raising one-way and Day Pass fares. The fare policy continues to preclude free transfers between bus routes. In fact, the policy expands that inequity by eliminating free transfers between trolleys.
As Circulate San Diego has detailed in the past, and again this week on KPBS, MTS is one of only two of the nation’s largest transit agencies to not allow free or reduced transfers between buses.
Read more on our blog post.
Nominations are Now Open for Circulate Momentum Awards
Circulate San Diego’s Momentum Awards recognize the people and projects in the San Diego region that are improving our quality of life.
You can nominate a project, person, or program to be honored at our annual awards gala. Self-nominations are okay and encouraged! Nominations can be submitted online here.
Circulate San Diego’s annual momentum awards are scheduled for Thursday, October 24, 2019. We sold out last year, and tickets can be purchased online now.
Special thanks to our Corporate Members:
Their support allows Circulate San Diego to go "above and beyond" to advance our mission to create excellent mobility choices and vibrant, healthy neighborhoods. Your firm, company or employer can find more information on our Corporate Membership page.
Platinum Member
Gold Member
Silver Member
Advocate Member
Planner Member
