Good Evening Everyone,

A few updates:

1. I did win a seat on Del Mar City Council. Thank you to all of those who supported me. As Council Member, I will work harder than ever to stop this fence.
2. The second focus for me is going to be providing much greater public awareness and scrutiny of the train’s very low and declining ridership and usage numbers. The NCTD and SANDAG have put out a lot of spin and misinformation on its numbers, but it needs to be stated that the Coaster has significantly failed in its core mission of providing meaningful mass transit. After 25 years, it accounts for only 1/20th of 1% of commuter volume in San Diego County. It is the least utilized of the 5 train/trolley lines in the county by a significant amount. The nearby 5 and 101 highways carry about 400 times more commuters. Freight also accounts for only ½ of 1% compared to 99%+ for trucks. Additionally, the rapidly advancing trends in self-driving electric car and truck technology are likely to be very negative for many trains in the future. We must keep the train’s failures top of mind when discussing all the negative conflict it creates—noise pollution, physically divided cities, accidents, financial losses, higher taxes, fences, ruined views, and blocked beach access.
3. In an October 30 press release, the NCTD had initially given the City of Del Mar until November 30 as a deadline for what type of fence it wants. On November 5,  the NCTD subsequently announced that it was delaying any decisions on the fence for 120 days (March 5).
4. The NCTD is having a public “Board Workshop” this Thursday (November 19) at 1pm that will include presentations related to the current status of insurance markets and its impact on NCTD’s rail insurance program and NCTD’s Trespasser Risk Reduction Analysis Study. Please attend if you are interested. It can be viewed here: https://www.youtube.com/user/gonctd
   
   They are claiming liability and insurance costs as justification for the fence. Their math and logic do not work. They note in 2020 the NCTD paid $2.7 million to purchase $295 million of insurance coverage for “unforeseen events” for its entire operating area over 61 miles. They note that Del Mar accounts for 7.5% of accidents. If we apply the 7.5% allocation to the total $2.7 million cost, that translates to a proportional cost for Del Mar of just $200,000.
   
   So to prevent $200,000 in insurance costs, it wants to spend $2-6 million to install a 1.5 mile fence that would destroy views and block access for the tens of thousands of San Diego County residents that regularly come visit Del Mar to enjoy the ocean, which is their right as Californians.
   
   This is a terrible and unacceptable trade-off, especially in this stressful pandemic year, when access to the ocean, beach and bluffs has been a source of relief and enjoyment to so many. What makes it even more absurd is the fact that ridership on the train has plunged an additional 90%+ this year from levels that were already very low. Most Coaster trains have almost no one on them.

We need to conduct a comprehensive public audit on the NCTD and its failures. In these tough economic times with tight budgets everywhere, it is critical to spend public money and resources where it has the greatest positive impact.

Thanks,

Dan

dquirk@gmail.com
coaster-rail-to-trail.org/