MAE 124/ESYS
103:
Week 9 Assignment
Transportation Planning for
UC San Diego: Trains, Buses, or Automobiles
The week 9 assignment asks you to think
about strategic planning for the San Diego transportation network.
San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) long-range transportation
plan opens by stating, "Ask anyone what’s the biggest problem in San Diego,
and you’ll probably
hear `traffic.' However, if we have learned anything in the last decade,
it’s that we can't build our way out of traffic congestion. This leaves us at
a crossroads--the road less traveled may hold the key to how we
commute in the future."
The plan, entitled "2030 San Diego Regional Transportation Plan: Pathways for
the Future" goes on to outline a broad-based "blueprint" for the San Diego
transportation sytem. Among the current SANDAG transportation activities are
efforts to widen I-5
(including adding carpool lanes that will bring commuters to the UCSD campus),
reworking bus routes, extending the trolley north from Old Town to
UCSD, and adding a Coaster station on Nobel Drive to serve the University Town
Center area.
Given all this regional activity, how should UCSD advance its own
transportation plans? Should UCSD build more parking structures, expand shuttle
buses, or increase coordination with the regional public transportation
system?
Should the university try to influence where
students and staff live in order to facilitate more sustainable commuting?
As always the answers you give are less important than the
process you use to gather information and evaluate alternatives.
If you were advising Brian d'Autremont, UCSD's
Director of Transportation Services (and our guest speaker), what process
would you advise using to upgrade commuting options for UCSD students
and staff?
As you think about this, you'll want to look at the fact sheets
describing the trolley upgrade and the super-loop bus. (Both fact
sheets are available here.)
Please also consider the San Diego options in the context of strategies
that have been attempted elsewhere in the world, as discussed in
your textbook and in articles. First consider the case of Curitiba,
Brazil:
Second, consider the bus transit pass system adopted in the
Denver area:
- Proctor, C., 2006., "Eco Pass interest riding high", Denver Business Journal, 18 August 2006.
A similar scheme exists in Silicon Valley, and it differs
from the UCSD bus pass system, because UCSD pays for each ride,
while Eco Passes are annual bus passes typically purchased at a
discount for most or all employees of a company (or residents of a
neighborhood).