Long border waits cause huge economic impact

By Alison St John / Reporter, KPBS Public Broadcasting

Published February 13, 2006 at 9:00 PM PST

This story was published more than 18 years ago.

Long waits at San Diego Tijuana border crossings are not only frustrating, they also have a massive economic impact on the region. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

Long waits at an Diego Tijuana border crossings are not only frustrating, they also have a massive economic impact on the region. KPBS reporter Alison St John has more.

A study by the San Diego Association of Governments shows speeding up border crossing times at San Ysidro, Otay Mesa and Tecate could have a bigger economic impact than expanding the convention center or attracting a Superbowl to San Diego. Elisa Arias of SANDAG says delays for both people and trucks crossing the border are costs the region money and jobs.

Arias: "The $4.2 billion in lost output due to border waits would represent three-and-a-half times the annual economic of the San Diego Convention Center, and the loss in jobs, would be similar to loosing eight to nine Qualcomm companies."

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The study aims to convince the federal and state government to invest in a new East Otay Mesa port of entry and connecting roads. The survey also showed 6o per cent of border crossers would pay a 3dollar fee at a new entry. Alison St John, KPBS News.

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.