SANDAG reveals new concepts for transportation plan

The agency released an ‘initial concept’ with various possibilities such as more freeway lanes, addressing the I-5 and SR 78 corridor, more frequent transit trips

The San Diego Association of Governments unveiled its “initial concept” for the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan update during Friday’s meeting. File photo

COUNTY — The San Diego Association of Governments released its initial concept for its 2025 Regional Transportation Plan update with a slew of North County projects including adding highway lanes.

In total, the 2025 update is calling for more than 200 miles of new highway lanes, while also continuing its push for more transit options including starting construction on the Purple Line by 2035, as explained by staff during Friday’s meeting. However, the amended 2021 plan projects SANDAG missing its 2035 greenhouse gas emission goals by 0.04% as the agency is required to reduce emissions by 19% in total.

The initial concept for the 2025 update, though, is in the early stages and elements such as new projects, GHG reduction projections and cost estimates are preliminary. SANDAG representatives said the numbers will change over the next several months as the plan is fluid, noting it will go before the Board of Directors for approval in December 2025.

“This is an initial concept and not the draft plan, we are months away from being there,” Antoinette Meier, senior director of regional planning, added. “This is a network that we put together based on the feedback that we got from you (the board), that we heard from the public and that we think has a good opportunity of meeting those state and federal requirements.”

She said SANDAG staff will run models to test the new additions and directions to ensure the plan will be compliant. Meier said 2035 is an important year as the state requires SANDAG, and other transportation agencies, to reduce GHG levels by 19% per capita compared to 2005 levels.