SANDAG Regional Plan 2025 Vision Zero Coalition Letter

To: SANDAG Board of Directors and Planning Staff

Re: Public Comment on Draft 2025 Regional Plan

From: San Diego Vision Zero Coalition

Date: July 17, 2025

Dear SANDAG Board and Planning Staff,

On behalf of the San Diego Vision Zero Coalition, we appreciate the opportunity to comment on the Draft 2025 Regional Plan. As a coalition of community organizations, advocates, and residents committed to eliminating traffic deaths and serious injuries, we urge SANDAG to adopt a transportation strategy that centers safety, climate action, equity, and regional connectivity.

Below are our comments across the key modal areas outlined in the public comment form:

Transit

SANDAG must prioritize realigning the LOSSAN rail corridor and advancing the Purple Line. These investments are critical to achieving meaningful mode shift and meeting our region’s climate goals. Just as important is ensuring that existing transit services are more frequent, reliable, and safe, particularly in San Diego’s densest urban neighborhoods, where ridership potential and equity needs are highest. We strongly recommend that SANDAG optimize and strengthen the core network before expanding service into low-density suburban areas.

Scooter + Bikeshare

We encourage SANDAG to exert greater pressure on local jurisdictions—especially the City of San Diego, Chula Vista, and coastal communities—to implement interoperable micromobility systems for first- and last-mile connections. A regionally unified docked bikeshare and scooter system would allow users to ride between cities without dismounting or switching apps, boosting accessibility and ridership.

Bikeways and Walkways

SANDAG has led the delivery of high-quality bikeways across the region, most notably along 4th & 5th Avenues, Pershing Drive, Rose Creek, and freeway corridors such as I-5 and I-15. This type of bold, regional active transportation leadership we need more of. We urge SANDAG to continue to implement best practices in expanding well-designed bike and walk networks that connect communities across city lines, and to resist efforts to offload responsibility to individual cities. SANDAG is uniquely positioned to strategize beyond municipal borders to continue to develop a thoughtful and cohesive active transportation system that aligns its infrastructure investments with regional housing, employment, and transportation patterns.

We further urge SANDAG to support cities committed to Vision Zero and climate goals and hold accountable those that are not. Where local political barriers exist, SANDAG should work with state agencies to overcome them and ensure every community can access safe, sustainable, and connected transportation options.

Closing

The Draft 2025 Regional Plan is an opportunity to build a safer, more equitable, and climate-resilient transportation system for San Diego County. We urge you to be bold in your investments and unrelenting in your commitment to safety and sustainability.