[Will O' Wisp]

Originally Posted by JerellO

......um.... can you guys take it to the DMs??? Lol

The conversation has run its course and its pretty clear we aren't going to see eye to eye on this. For the benefit of the thread, I vote we just agree to disagree.

Seaport San Diego tower is like nothing else on California’s coast. That’s the problem

A proposed observation tower at the edge of Pacific Highway is a polarizing symbol of change that could make or break the larger, $2.4 billion redevelopment effort planned for downtown’s Central Embarcadero.

In some circles there is a sense that San Diego is missing an internationally recognizable calling card, as in a postcard-worthy — or in today’s vernacular, Instagrammable — destination that shouts, “Visit me.” The cylindrical tower with a cinched waist that is being touted as the high-flying replacement to a flat-by-comparison Seaport Village could change that.

That is, if California allows it.

Interesting article on the political dynamics of the Seaport Village redo. IMO the concerns about passing with the Coastal Commission are a little bit overblown. The CC hasn't formally looked at the project, so they don't really have a clear idea of what it is yet. And when they do they're going to see a project that dedicates a greater amount of space to the public than the area does now, is more accessible to the public at large (vs the current "tourist trap" that discourages locals), and is wildly supported by the citizens of San Diego.

At marathon meeting, North County leaders’ transit plan concerns addressed

It was over a week after the Fourth of July, but fireworks erupted at a July 12 marathon 4.5-hour San Diego Association of Governments meeting about the future of the San Diego County mass transit system.

The group of county leaders convened to discuss the “5 Big Moves,” SANDAG’s vision to create a new-aged public transportation system in the name of rolling back traffic congestion and tackling climate change. And the meeting ended with some of the concerns addressed about the plan, which North County leaders have raised for months.

I've posted a few times about the turmoil at SANDAG. Well the whole thing came to a head on Friday after County Supervisors Desmond and Gaspar successfully brought forward a motion for a formal review of the "5 Big Moves" to the SANDAG board. While some seem to interpret the survival of the 5 Big Moves as a major victory for transit, the reality is Desmond and Gaspar got almost everything they asked for. Under a motion from Mayor Falconer the new regional plan will prioritize corridors in North/East county that are unfunded under the current plan, will include significant highway improvements, and shifts focus from redoing SD's entire transportation network to just coming up with something that satisfies CA state environmental law.

Gaspar narrowly lost a motion to forbid the study of converting general purpose highway lanes and local roads into toll lanes, mainly on the pleas of Ikhrata that it might be the only way to fund improvements if tax increases fail with the voters. She and some other North/East county leaders are still keeping up the pressure to get it off the table.