20 San Diego Uptown News | January 7–20, 2011


NEWS


Becky Royal, a Talmadge resident, helps load goods for delivery to The Salvation Army Kroc Center (Photo by Jo Ann Molter)


Talmadge residents celebrate the holidays with charity Neighbors in Talmadge got into the spirit of giv-


ing this past December by donating more than 1,200 pounds of non-perishable food to The Salvation Army Kroc Center Family Resource Center. Residents volunteered to collect the food items and


planned to cap off the food drive with the 6th Annual Car- oling at the Circle on Sunday, Dec. 19. Although the Car- oling at the Circle event was cancelled twice due to rain, the group managed to collect food items on three Satur- days in December at the Talmadge Circle where Adams


Instead of untrimmed trees, seen here on the right and left, blocking the view of Balboa Park, it is being proposed by Irwin Jacobs that a $35 million bypass bridge be constructed before the archway near the entrance to the Museum of Man. (Photo by Elena Buckley/SDUN)


FROM PAGE 1 BRIDGE


Cabrillo Bridge, though instead of traveling forward through the center of the two portions of the Museum of Man, it would be di- verted onto the new bridge that would veer south around the museum of man to a new park- ing structure behind the Organ Pavilion. Coons said he fears the proj-


ect would turn Balboa Park into a “motorist’s Disneyland.”


“I think we all want to get the


cars out of the Plaza de Panama,” Coons said, “but (the bypass bridge) is just a massive struc- ture.”


The Balboa Park Committee,


a community planning group, serves in an advisory capacity to the mayor, city council and city manager on issues related to the acquisition development maintenance and operation of the park. For more information and to


view the plans, visit sohosandi- ego.org. u


FROM PAGE 1 SANDAG “They didn’t have goals for fre-


quency in transit service,” she said. “So [the coalition] said let’s get transit at 10-minute frequencies. Now it’s in there because we advo- cated for it. Shorter waits provide a more attractive transit option and get people out of their cars.” SANDAG’s lack of attention


to public transit, Lowe said, is es- pecially concerning because the organization’s last transportation plan was called “Transit First.” Plus the new plan will be subject to state greenhouse gas emissions perfor- mance measures, which weren’t required in the previous transpor- tation plan. Lowe anticipates the final 2050


plan to reflect the need for reduced emissionsw. “We expect that some of those


freeway projects (in the draft) will be reduced,” she said. The coalition also has been suc-


cessful in securing additional dol- lars for public transit in the plan.


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Avenue, 49th Street and Lorraine Drive intersect. Local realtors Megan Beauvais (Ascent Real Estate) and Afton Miller (Coldwell Banker) supported the drive by offer- ing their Talmadge open houses as food drop-off points. The Salvation Army Kroc Center Family Re-


source Center provides emergency services to those in the 92115-area and other nearby areas. The Tal- madge volunteers helped sort and package the dona- tions for use by the center and plan to make the food drive an annual event.


Previously, SANDAG recommend- ed $700 million for options, such as biking and walking improvements, but the coalition’s lobbying efforts ultimately led to a $2.58 billion al- lotment. “It was a substantial increase,”


Lowe said. “Some people thought that was too much money for bikes. But we had many people speaking out for it. It was our voice that let those elected officials be comfort- able with that decision.” Now the coalition is working to


reverse the 2050 plan’s priorities from freeways as a primary push to public transit as the initial advance- ment. In December, the SANDAG board voted to include a $4.5 billion expansion of the I-5 freeway in the 2050 plan. Meanwhile, the $43 mil- lion Mid-City Rapid Bus project— which would traverse Uptown on its way from San Diego State Univer- sity to downtown—is floundering due to public disagreement. “They’re going to spend billions


of dollars expanding the I-5 but it won’t save any time (for drivers),” Lowe said. “People should be mak- ing a way bigger deal about that


than a bus route that will provide resources for Mid-City people.” While some say the Rapid Bus


would not lead to a reduction in parking and street congestion, par- ticularly along the Park Boulevard corridor, Lowe said the benefits far outweigh the inconvenience. “It’s been a real battle. Years


ago when this project was first pro- posed it included dedicated lanes and would have been a lot faster. But people couldn’t get over the loss of some parking spaces for the bus to have its own lane,” she said. “In the community process the proj- ect has been reduced so much that now people say they don’t want it all. But if we want to become more transit-friendly and get out of cars, we have to say yes, it’s worth it. It’s absolutely worth it.” Lowe said a successful Rapid


Bus line will garner support for light rail—hailed as a better trans- portation solution by some commu- nity leaders—in the future. “The eventual plan is for light rail to be where the Mid-City Rapid


see SANDAG, page 21 FROM PAGE 6 KEEZER


can be purchased online soon at geoffreykeezer.com or directly at his upcoming concert at the Saville Theatre at San Diego City College Jan. 11. Located near the corner of 15th and C streets in downtown’s East Village, Saville offers free parking adjacent to the Theatre in the Student Lot 7 and Faculty Lot 8. Parking citations will not be is- sued during events scheduled at the Saville Theatre. Tickets can be purchased at the box office, which opens 45 minutes prior to show time or by calling (619) 388-3676. Keezer and Wulff will find out if


they won the Grammy on Sunday, Feb. 13 during the Grammys tele- cast on the CBS Television Net- work, 8 to 11:30 p.m. (ET/PT).u


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