Congestion? The Price of Growth
Introduction
San Marcos has seen an exponential amount of growth in the last several years from infrastructure projects to housing developments that spring up faster than the city might be capable of supporting. The most noticeable effect can be seen in overcrowded roads, schools and even whilst shopping. San Marcos has begun to tap into its vast potential with much undeveloped land being transformed. It leads one to question whether this growth is entirely positive or if the city is growing too big for its britches.
Traffic
San Marcos Boulevard is a two lane road each way, yet it often feels sluggish and suffocating with how the evening congestion can play into a road that perhaps wasn’t suited for so many semi-trucks, pedestrians, bikers and everyday commuters and community members. The Boulevard perhaps did not envision needing to support so many groups of people traveling through the heart of the city.
The harm?
Biking along the boulevard is not for the faint of heart. The city has terribly small bike lines that often are uneven because of where asphalt and regular sidewalk cement meet. This issue is greatly exacerbated as it has a housing project being added between the Edwards Regal Cinema and Wells Fargo. There will surely be more foot traffic to follow that will force bikers off the sidewalk and into the bike line. Are we putting our community members in harm’s way with poor adaptations for growing traffic demands?
Schools
The remodel of San Marcos High School (SMHS) that cost x million dollars was a necessary step for a city to grow beyond what it had been capable of previously. However, as a previous student of SMHS it is clearly evident that from its inception, the school was expected to support more students than would be wise for an effective learning environment. The issue of overcrowded class rooms only grows each year as the population density within the Valley of Discovery flourishes with it.
Greater Supply of Housing
All the housing development projects work to attack the issue of extremely high cost of living in the state and county. With greater options, the hope becomes that community members can once again begin to live and not center around working to scrape by. Housing projects that prioritize and secure affordable housing with financial support is critical for the protection of working everyday community members that can’t afford a mortgage or to rent a full house.
Solutions?
Surely this is not all doom and gloom? It’s not, there are many different ways to grow and ensure that San Marcos can sustain its ambitions. There is no need to reinvent the wheel, we can take a look at what surrounding cities have been doing and create a patch work solution tailored to the demands of the city and adapt what works best.
Bus Lane or Trolley!
It is crucial to imagine a world that you wish to live in, one that makes you excited for every day. Past a certain point on the I-15 San Diego begins to accommodate a bus lane through the middle of the freeway. A bus lane might be exactly what the surrounding area demands when facing a critical mass congestion issue that looms larger with every development. Instead of aimlessly adding more lanes to a freeway that’s already crowded, work to encourage communal transport that is both greener and economical.
The Trolley works in a similar way as the bus lane but would require greater investment because of the need to lay down tracks around the city. This plan would be effective if it managed to weave its tracks around the Sprinter and/or Coaster to ensure that it becomes a network of transportation that works to include more communities into the web of movement.
In all?
The growth that faces the city is not a bad thing, if anything its great to see the city we love become a more inclusive environment.
Eyes of Jade 