Skip to main content

Transit hub promised in San Diego area

San Diego North County’s Interstate 15 corridor is best known for its flood of freeway traffic, not its mass transit stations. This is due to change next year, when the Sabre Springs/Penasquitos transit station, just east of I-15 on Sabre Springs Parkway, is set to undergo a US$12.2 million face-lift that will include a four-storey parking garage, electric vehicle charging stations, electronic next bus signs and even some smart parking spaces. “This will be our flagship station,” said Frank Owsiany, who ov
January 18, 2013 Read time: 2 mins
San Diego North County’s Interstate 15 corridor is best known for its flood of freeway traffic, not its mass transit stations.  This is due to change next year, when the Sabre Springs/Penasquitos transit station, just east of I-15 on Sabre Springs Parkway, is set to undergo a US$12.2 million face-lift that will include a four-storey parking garage, electric vehicle charging stations, electronic next bus signs and even some smart parking spaces.

 “This will be our flagship station,” said Frank Owsiany, who oversees station improvements along the inland corridor for the 1789 San Diego Association of Governments, the region’s transportation planning agency.

Construction on what is said to be the ultimate I-15 transit hub, is expected to begin by late February or early March and should last about a year, Owsiany said.

The project is timed to be ready for the early 2014 launch of an expanded rapid bus service along I-15. That service promises to increase the frequency and shorten the routes of express buses that ferry passengers from stations in Escondido, Rancho Bernardo and other points south along the I-15 Express Lanes to job centers in Sorrento Valley and downtown San Diego.

The Sabre Springs project will require the closure of the station’s 150 parking spaces, which will be temporarily replaced at three park and rides along Sabre Springs Parkway. Owsiany said the station ramps that connect drivers to the freeway’s express lanes will remain open during construction.

Once complete, the parking garage will offer 537 spaces to go along with 93 additional surface lot spaces. Solar panels will be added on top of the structure, providing shade for cars on the top level, as well as providing a power source, he said.

Owsiany added that drivers will be able to call and reserve smart parking spots inside the station, where stalls will be lighted either green or red to show whether they have been reserved.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Innovia & The Ray feel the pulse
    March 15, 2022
    Getting drivers to slow down and space themselves safely on the road is a problem – but a collaboration between Innovia Technology and The Ray may have found a new way to do it
  • Investments in autonomous driving are accelerating, says report
    January 7, 2015
    Google and various automakers have increased their activity and investments toward the goal of self-driving vehicles, while Google has shifted from its previous strategy to now focus on fully driverless vehicles for the future. If successful, it will have significant implications for the auto industry, according to IHS Automotive, based on findings in its new report, Autonomous Driving: Question is When, Not If, which is an update to a previous report issued early in 2014. OEMs remain geared toward aug
  • Ohio moving towards self-driving vehicle testing
    August 23, 2016
    Ohio's toll road, a heavily travelled connector between the East Coast and Chicago, is moving closer to allowing the testing of self-driving vehicles. Testing is likely to begin within 12 months, and possibly before the end of the year, the Ohio Turnpike's executive director, Randy Cole, told the Associated Press. Officials overseeing the roadway have spent more than a year looking at the possibilities, he said. Ohio is among several states competing to play a role in the testing and research of auton
  • Denver RTD opts for wireless AVL and payments
    October 15, 2014
    Canadian company Sierra Wireless has deployed its InMotion Solutions oMG Mobile Gateway for Denver’s Regional Transportation District (RTD) to support mobile broadband access for automatic vehicle location (AVL) and smart card fare payments aboard more than 1,100 buses in its fixed route fleet. One of the top 20 public transit agencies in the US, the RTD provides services to residents across an eight county metro area, from the bus and light rail services to the free MallRide and specialty services.