Next-generation facility features 630 parking spaces, 10 electric vehicle charging stations, Bike Station with 20 lockable bike racks and more
San Diego, CA – The Sabre Springs/Peñasquitos Transit Station will reopen Monday, March 3, with a new solar-powered parking garage, a modular bike parking facility, and other amenities to make it more convenient and accessible for people commuting to work or school or traveling to entertainment venues downtown. The station was expanded in preparation for the launch of Rapid bus services along the Interstate15 corridor starting this summer.
The transit station now has spaces for 630 vehicles, including 10 electric vehicle charging stations. Additionally, the transit station features eight bus bays, modern passenger shelters, next vehicle arrival signs, a bicycle parking building, designated spaces for clean-air and vanpool vehicles, electronic parking space availability signs, security cameras, water-efficient landscaping and a photovoltaic system to help power the facility.
“Convenience and reliability are important factors in making public transportation more attractive to commuters,” said Harry Mathis, chairman of the MTS Board of Directors. “This modern transit station, combined with our soon-to-launch Rapid service, provides exactly the kind of amenities needed to get people out of their cars and onto public transit.”
The Sabre Springs/Peñasquitos Transit Station will serve two of the new I-15 Rapid routes that will launch later this year to connect suburban commuters with major employment and entertainment centers. One will provide high-frequency, seven-day-a-week, extended hour, bi-directional service to and from downtown. Another will offer high-frequency, peak-hour service to Sorrento Mesa and UC San Diego. Both of these Rapid lines will complement existing Premium commuter Express service, which operates during peak hours.
“With the expansion of the Sabre Springs/Peñasquitos Transit Station now complete, we have reached another major milestone in the effort to complete a Rapid bus network in the region” said SANDAG Chair and Santee Councilmember Jack Dale. “As it is fully built out over the next few years, the Rapid network will link residential areas with major employment centers throughout the county. Our goal is to make public transit competitive with the car so people will be able to choose to leave their vehicles at home.”
The $12.2 million expansion of the transit station is funded by TransNet, the regional half-cent sales tax for transportation. Spearheaded by SANDAG, in collaboration with MTS and Caltrans, the project is being completed on budget and almost one month ahead of schedule. This is the first project that SANDAG is building using the design-build method, which uses one contractor for both design and construction to accelerate completion. The contractor for this project is McCarthy Building Companies.
MTS will offer free charging for customers using the EV charging stations for the first three months. The stations are provided by GE WattStation and require customers to establish an account via its GE WattStation mobile phone app or through a WattStation payment card obtained through Amazon. Accounts allow payment at all GE WattStation locations. For more information, go to https://www.gewattstation.com/connect/.
The new Bike Station, the first in San Diego County, is equipped with 20 lockable bike racks, a bike pump, and a repair workstation. The facility is part of the Regional Bicycle Locker Program operated by the SANDAG iCommute program. A space can be reserved in the Bike Station by signing up for a free iCommute account at 511sd.com/iCommute. A valid Compass Card is required to use this facility.
About MTS
MTS operates more than 90 bus routes and three Trolley lines on 53 miles of double-tracked railway. Every day more than 275,000 passenger trips are taken on MTS services. For more information on how you can use public transportation and save money, go to www.sdmts.com.
About SANDAG
The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) is the San Diego region’s primary public planning, transportation, and research agency, providing the public forum for regional policy decisions about growth, transportation planning and construction, environmental management, housing, open space, energy, public safety, and binational topics. SANDAG is governed by a Board of Directors composed of mayors, council members, and supervisors from each of the region’s 18 cities and the county government.
About Caltrans District 11
Caltrans District 11 includes San Diego and Imperial counties. There are roughly 1,000 centerline miles of urban and rural freeways and more than $540 million in current construction. For more information on local transportation projects, log on to www.dot.ca.gov/dist11. Real-time construction and traffic information is also available on Twitter @SDCaltrans.
FACEBOOK: SANDAGregion /SDMTS
TWITTER: @SANDAG /@sdmts /@SDCaltrans
YOUTUBE: SANDAGregion /SanDiegoMTS
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