Airport skyway could provide connection to downtown San Diego, study says
Airport skyway could provide connection to downtown San Diego, study says
An unconventional mode of urban
transit is being floated in front of city leaders and regional agencies as a
solution to connect airport travelers to San Diego’s downtown area.
More recognizable as a ski lift or
gondola, an aerial cableway system is the best answer to the airport’s
in-and-out transportation woes, according to County Supervisor Ron Roberts. His
office commissioned a report to study the feasibility of using a so-called
“skyway” to get people from the Convention Center to San Diego International
Airport, and vice versa, with a handful of stops at various points along Harbor
Drive.
The report
cost $75,000 and was prepared by consulting firm WSP Global with help from the
San Diego Association of Governments. It was recently shared with the mayor’s
office, the Port of San Diego, the San Diego Regional Airport Authority and
other agencies in an effort to prompt interest — and action.
It comes as the airport wraps up an
environmental review for a proposed $3 billion redevelopment, which critics say
will increase traffic congestion on Harbor Drive.
“What we
wanted to do is put something on the table,” Roberts said. “We really wanted to
force (the airport) to engage. If not this, then at least give us a solution.”
The downtown-to-airport skyway is
not only feasible but the most practical option, he said, citing the report’s
findings.
The report found that a skyway
system that follows Harbor Drive from Fifth Avenue at the Convention Center to
the airport would cost from $230 million to $300 million to build, and an
additional $11 million to $12 million to operate annually. It could transport
up to 2,400 passengers per hour, per direction in enclosed eight- to
12-passenger cabins. The skyway would also allow for direct connections to bus,
train and trolley stations, as well as offer easy walking access to hotels,
Seaport Village and other downtown attractions.
The roughly 25-minute route would
start with a passenger station at Harbor and Fifth Avenue, then travel
northwest along Harbor Drive with stops at First Avenue and near Kettner
Boulevard. The system would then turn north at Kettner and continue toward
Sante Fe Depot with a station at the intersection of Kettner and Broadway.
Then, the skyway would head west along Broadway and stop again at Broadway at
Harbor. Finally, it would travel along Harbor Drive to the airport, using
several turning towers to navigate directional changes, and culminate with
stops at Terminal 1 and Terminal 2.
Using travel data from SANDAG, the
study projected the skyway system’s ridership at between 1.1 million trips and
1.6 million trips per year, or 3,600 to 4,900 trips per day.
It’s a lofty vision providing
agencies with food for thought, even if it remains a pie-in-the-sky idea for
the time being.
In the U.S., there are only a few
examples of metros employing aerial cableway technology as a mode of urban
transportation. The first mass transit application, completed in 1976, was the
Roosevelt Island Tramway in New York. It uses a simple, point-to-point system
to connect the island to Manhattan. The tramway travels 0.6 miles and
transports 2.8 million people per year.
The tram was replaced in 2010 by
cable transport-maker Leitner-Poma, which currently operates and maintains the
system. The firm, which has met with Roberts and other regional officials, says
more than a dozen skyway projects, similar in scope to the one studied for San
Diego, are being considered by municipalities around the nation.
The cableway technology, said
Leitner-Poma Operations Manager Mike McGuckin, is starting to appeal to U.S.
urban planners because it elevates commuters off the street, carrying thousands
of people per hour through densely populated or topographically challenging
areas. It’s also energy efficient, he said.
Still, an urban cableway system with
multiple passenger stations, as proposed in the San Diego study, has never been
implemented in the U.S. The complex cableways are, however, fairly common
abroad with large systems in South America, Asia and Europe. For instance, La
Paz, Bolivia’s “Mi Teleferico” nine-line system runs 19 miles and conveys 23.6
million people every year, the study notes.
In San Diego, an airport skyway’s
two biggest hurdles — money and political will, according to Roberts — are of
the derailing variety. For starters, a local agency would need to take the lead
and fund additional analysis. A comparable analysis study alone would cost
around $850,000 to conduct.
As it stands, local stakeholders said
that they are keeping an open mind when it comes to easing traffic congestion
around the airport.
“It is critical that we explore all
options to enhance mobility in that area and expand access to our waterfront,”
said Christina Di Leva Chadwick, spokesperson for Mayor Kevin Faulconer. “The
airport skyway is one of several alternatives city staff and regional planners
will be evaluating as we look to invest in public infrastructure that moves the
most people at the highest and best use of taxpayer dollars.”
Airport officials, who had hoped to
break ground on their redevelopment project in 2020, echoed a similar
sentiment.
"We think it’s premature to
identify the technology now — whether it's a people mover or some other
automated system,” said Denny Probst, vice president of development at San
Diego International Airport. “Whatever the region determines is the best
solution, we are committed to talking to the FAA about how we can share in
that."
The Port of San Diego, which
oversees waterfront property along San Diego Bay, is also amenable but
noncommittal.
“The port is eager to explore these
and other ideas for improving mobility around the waterfront of San Diego Bay
through regional partnership,” said Jason Giffen, assistant vice president for
the agency.
In 2015, Roberts’ office
commissioned a similar study that looked at the feasibility of a $75 million skyway from San Diego
Bay to Balboa Park. That project has taken a back seat to the
airport line as Roberts feels funding sources will be easier to obtain for the
latter effort.
Staff reporter Lori Weisberg
contributed to this story.
(619) 469-3600
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