Could America’s Finest Be Better?

[lindismith]

Because we all seem to be concerned about San Diego, I thought I would ask the following question:
What would make San Diego a better place to live? And, to follow, what exactly would you change about it?

I think if there was less traffic, it would be better. I guess I would like to see better public transportation, especially so that beach parking wasn’t so terrible!

And, I would also like to see more businesses in North county so people who lived there, could work there. This would also help traffic.

Anyone else have ideas?

[blahblahblah]

OK, I’ll start:

* Some sort of program to get the crackheads, alcoholics, and schizophrenics off of the streets downtown. They’re a nuisance and a public health hazard because so many of them are infected with TB.

* Decent public schools.

* Better storm sewers and sewage treatment for both SD and TJ so that our beaches are clean.

* Job growth in areas other than mortgage lending and home construction.

In spite of all of this (and I’m sure there are many other things), this is still a pretty good place to live.

[Bugs]

What WOULD have made this area a better place to live would have been if the other two north-south freeways that were proposed had been built. Then we wouldn’t by trying to funnel all that north county traffic down 2 freeways.

Of course, it’s too late for that now.

[4plexowner]

Which is another reason that a low quality tract home in north county isn’t worth $700K – $2 mil.

[Anonymous]

I’m with you Concho…how should we pay for these services? Raise taxes? Have a bake sale? How about a huge rock concert-fest; we’ll call it SoCal-Aide…………

[powayseller]

Update the infrastructure: parks, pools, sewers, more roads.

Improve integrity of our elected officials. The Cunningham case and pension problems left a bad mark on our city.

Improve beach access (parking) and cleanliness. Make beaches more fun and inviting. I was at Oceanside beach last weekend, and it looked like a really fun place. On the beach, there was an inviting walkway to the beach, a couple restaurants, a permanent stage with band playing, a pier, lifeguard stations. It was a clean, wide sandy beach. It was the most beautiful, fun, inviting beach area I’ve seen in SD. Mission Beach is also an entertaining beach for kids.

I think we could do more with our beaches: build restaurants on the beach, surf board shop (rentals, classes), performances, fire pits, bike and skateboard rentals to use on the boardwalk, more areas to rent boats. Where can you even rent a surfboard at a beach other than Mission Beach?

On the financial side, SD’s prospects are bleak. What will SD do with their already poor budget, as the sales and property taxes dwindle over the coming years? How will they ever replace the broken sewer pipes?

The biotech and wireless industries are not growing, and Professional and Business Services lost jobs last month. That is the ONE sector that the UCLA Anderson school looked to for job growth. Their Forecast said that the lost realtor jobs would be replaced by jobs in the PBS sector. That is not going to happen after all.

[barnaby33]

Repeal prop 13, get a real debate on immigration and cap population levels based on what the water supply can support.

We certainly don’t need more freeways. Actually toll roads would be very nice. You drive more, you pay more.

I don’t see how you can make elected officials more honest PS it hasn’t happened before in human history, and while your beautification ideas are pretty good, even you admit we can’t fund them. So the ideas that would make SD a better place to live involve creating funding sources so we can do some things to make our lives better.

Josh

[CardiffBaseball]

PS, Not that it is a big deal but I see a surf shop in Cardiff renting boards. I can usually find parking down here, as I am just east of I-5, and walking is not practical.

[masayako]

1. More beach parkings
2. More public transportation
3. Add a China town
4. Add a Japan town
5. More diverse businesses
6. More affordable housing (I don’t mean cheap, but at less decently affordable)
7. Less corrupted city council
8. No property tax
9. Less people
10. NO MORE ‘Single family home’ on a condo zone!!
This is not a joke.

[lindismith]

Bugs,
I didn’t know there were 2 more freeways once planned – can you elaborate? Were they actually planned or just proposed? Where were they supposed to go in?

Personally, I’d prefer to see high-speed public transport on our existing freeways (maybe built overhead in the center?) than more freeways for more cars.

[carlislematthew]

Repeal prop 13

YES! Since moving to San Diego recently (I’m one of the few!) I’ve learnt a little about this stupid tax system. I understand what the intent is, and I can understand how it might be for *some* people if it were repealed, but I don’t care. It’s fundamentally unfair!

If I live in a house in a neighborhood receiving identical services as the identical house next door, why should I pay 2, 3, 4 times as much in taxes?

Perhaps we should have different, lower rates of sales tax for those that have lived in the state longer? Or maybe a smoker that’s smoked for 40 years should pay the tax on the valuation of a pack of cigarettes from 1960 when he/she started smoking?

Everyone should pay the same *rate* of tax for their property based on current valuations. If the value of houses shoots up (like it has) then lower the percentage to keep the overall revenue similar, after taking into account inflation or whatever needs to be added on a yearly basis to make sure we’ve covering the costs.

[Bugs]

This goes back some years (somewhere around 1980 or so), but there were originally 2 more north-south freeways proposed by the predecessors to SANDAG. One through inland Poway connecting to Hwy-52 and another between I-5 and and I-15 from Hwy-78 to (I think) Hwy 56. Local politics got in the way, particularly from the folks in Poway. So now they have to drive 15 minutes just to get to a jammed I-15.

[Carlsbadliving]

One of the freeways was proposed to start around Encinitas Blvd and head in a southeasterly direction to the 15. It would have cut right through Rancho Santa Fe. You can imagine the people of RSF didn’t like this idea. Obviously it never came to fruition.

[blahblahblah]

Well, if the city hadn’t squandered its nest egg in the pension fund scam, we might have a chance. As it stands, we’re pretty much screwed and I doubt we’ll get any of those things.

The question wasn’t how to pay for it, it was “what would make the city better.”

[rankandfile]

Excellent point Bugs! Having only two north-south freeways is a bitch. It’s never too late for displacing people for the greater public good (freeways in this case). It just depends on who’s being displaced and how much money and political clout they have to fight it. Just ask those people in Connecticut who are getting displaced for a development project! It’s not even a necessity. The city is basically calling for it to increase tax revenues.

I’d also like to see the infrastructure in San Diego improved. The streets are crap and things like power lines, storm drains, curb/gutter, and sewer lines are old and could use an upgrade. I’m not an expert, but I don’t think sewer spills contribute to a city being called “America’s Finest”.

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