'Grand Central Station' and Airport Connector Take First Steps Forward in San Diego

Lori Weisberg reports: "At a cost of $4 billion or more, San Diego County could have a multi-level Grand Central Station and underground people mover that would whisk passengers to the airport within just two to three minutes, offering a transit solution that has eluded the region for decades."

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) presents that account of the idea for a new Grand Central Station for Sand Diego in a recently released 60-page report. The SANDAG Board of Directors established an Airport Connectivity Subcommittee in December 2018 and provided $1 million to develop and analyze a concept for a central mobility hub to improve access to the San Diego International Airport.

According to Wiesberg, the report considers four alternatives for the airport connector. One would expand the existing San Diego Trolley; the other three would add an automated people mover system. "One advantage of such a system is that it provides level boarding and can operate at high frequencies, which allows people to 'arrive at their aircraft gates faster and with less stress,' the SANDAG report states."

"The transit option that appears to be favored most by local planners and engineering consultants who worked on the latest analysis is a new transit center that would be developed on Navy property north of the airport, in concert with a nonstop, underground people mover that would be free to ride," adds Weisberg.

As for the prospect of a new Grand Central Station, the project gained critical momentum earlier this month when the Department of the Navy signed off on the early plans for the redevelopment of the Naval Base Point Loma, Old Town Complex. Jennifer Evan Grove reports on the details of a new contract that supersedes a previous memorandum of understanding and clears the way for the navy and SANDAG to begin planning and environmental review for the 70-acre site that could become the future home of the new transit hub.