San Diego's high-speed rail plan hinges on urban density as population growth wanes

Two hundred miles of high-speed rail carrying electric trains moving twice as fast as the region's trolley system. A dozen new stations, including massive hubs near the downtown airport and the Tijuana border.

That's the backbone of a recently released $160-billion blueprint aimed at making public transit as fast as driving a car — which elected officials from across the San Diego region are preparing to discuss Friday.

Experts largely agree the plan's long-term success would hinge on whether cities can usher in dense urban development around transit stations, at a time when birth rates in San Diego and throughout California are declining as overall population growth has all but come to a halt.

"If new residents can live in apartments near rail, with easy walking, biking and transit access, that will be the key determinant as to whether or not this plan becomes a success," said Ethan Elkind, director of the climate program at UC Berkeley's Center for Law, Energy and the Environment. .............(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/news/21224713/ca-san-diegos-highspeed-rail-plan-hinges-on-urban-density-as-population-growth-wanes