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Border Survey Shows People Would Pay For New Crossing
Results Indicate Reducing Delay Is Worth Fee

POSTED: 3:24 pm PDT June 10, 2005

SAN DIEGO -- People are willing to pay a fee to finance another border crossing if it would reduce delays caused by post-9/11 security measures that are harming the local economy, according to a study released Friday.

Delays averaging 45 minutes at the San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Tecate border crossings are costing San Diego County's economy $2.2 billion and 31,000 jobs annually, according to the study by the San Diego Association of Governments.

The study was based on interviews with 3,603 people who crossed the Mexican border at the three ports of entry.

SANDAG estimated that people enter the county from the three border crossings about 60 million times a year, but that 8.4 million trips aren't made because of the delays.

More than half the border crossings are people intending to shop or participate in some type of recreation, and the economic loss to county retailers alone is more than $2 billion a year, the survey found.

Nearly 60 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay a $3 toll to use a new crossing proposed for Otay Mesa East, SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos said.

That's a strong argument for building a new border crossing, which would be located about three miles east of the existing Otay Mesa crossing, he said.

"This is, I think, good information as we go to the policy makers," Gallegos said. "The big question at the end of the day is how we are going to pay for what we want to do."

The new crossing could be "a test bed" for new technology that could both shorten border waits and enhance security, Gallegos added.

SANDAG officials plan to meet with state and federal lawmakers soon to discuss the survey, which was prompted by increased delays created by post-9/11 security measures, he said.

A survey of the impact of border delays on freight shipments could be released in late-summer.

Meantime, Caltrans is studying the environmental impact of building a new crossing at Otay Mesa and the necessary roads into the area, which is close to high-tension power lines that run between the United States and Mexico.