The La Mesa City Council on Tuesday got a glimpse of what the downtown La Mesa trolley station might look like in the decades ahead.
The MTS Orange trolley line that runs parallel to Spring Street in downtown La Mesa could someday tower above the city or burrow underground, according to a study completed by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG).
The study comes as SANDAG expects trolley service in San Diego County to double over the next decade. In addition to the aerial and below-ground options, there would also be a combo design with some tracks at street level and others above.
SANDAG senior regional planner Cecily Taylor presented the study at the council’s regular meeting. She acknowledged that all of the options are still very much on the drawing board.
“There’s still a long path ahead,” Taylor said. “A lot more work to be done to move any of these ideas forward.”
SANDAG gathered community feedback on the options last year. In May, the agency presented the findings to the La Mesa Mobility Commission.
Each option comes with a high price tag. The cost of aerial design is estimated at $569 million, and the below-ground option would be almost $741 million. Taylor said the aerial design would require more than four years of construction. The underground option would likely take longer.
Vice Mayor Lauren Cazares emphasized the city will not be making hasty decisions.
“I think it’s great we’re looking into options for the future,” Cazares said. “That being said, with that price tag, obviously, it’s not something we’re going to be moving on right this second.”
The next step would be for the city to identify potential funding.
As the presentation and discussion wrapped up, Mayor Mark Arapostathis thanked Taylor and made it clear that the city is not taking action anytime soon.
“We’ll let our great-grandchildren know about this,” he said, prompting chuckles from councilmembers and the audience.
