On November 17, 2015, Old Town National City will break ground on the city's first transit-oriented affordable housing development: The Paradise Creek Apartment Homes.

We spoke with National City community members about what this momentous groundbreaking means to them. From better living conditions to a symbol of hope, this development means much more than just another building. 

"Paradise Creek provides a big opportunity for stabilty in my family and a huge wellness project for the community."

"For me, the Paradise Creek Apartments are like a dream come true. I have been participating in this project since it was an idea. For my family and I, the apartments represent our hope for quality of life and a better home."

"In my community in National City, the homes are in really bad shape. The Paradise Creek Apartments are an opportunity for my neighbors to live in better conditions."

"The Paradise Creek Apartments are an $80 million project. This demonstrates that nothing is impossible. We, the residents, can continue to fight to improve our community."

"The Paradise Creek Apartments are a huge accomplishment for National City residents. Those of us who work in National City will have a better quality of life."

"The Paradise Creek Apartments are really important to me. We have a lot of low income families in National City and I believe that they deserve to live in better conditions."

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National City
has long struggled with polluting businesses operating next to homes and schools - emitting toxins that poison our air and make our children sick. National City is home to 32 million pounds of hazardous substances and 870,000 cubic feet of toxic or hazardous gases. In comparison, La Jolla has 3.8 million pounds of hazardous gases. National City asthma hospitalization rates are nearly double the county average.

The community worked to approve its Westside Specific Plan in 2010, a new plan to address the impact of polluting businesses operating too close to homes and schools in the neighborhood. On November 5, 2013, National City Council called for the gradual phase out of two businesses near Kimball Elementary School- Jose’s Auto Electric and Steve’s West Coast Automotive. Today, November 5, 2015, these businesses have relocated safely away from homes and schools.

Today, the children of National City can breathe cleaner air.

We believe that no one is more entitled to determine the future of a community than the people who live there. Residents of National City have worked for decades to build #healthyhoods for their families, and the relocation of these two businesses represents a momentous victory for the neighborhood and a tremendous step toward public health and environmental justice.

The following op-ed, written by Policy Advocate Monique López, ran in San Diego Free Press on September 28, 2015.

Monique López speaking to community members protesting the Regional Transportation Plan outside of SANDAG

We all need to move, and how we move influences our quality of life. The time of our commute, the safety of our sidewalks, the quality of our air and the type of transportation options we have determine how well we live our lives. On October 9, 2015, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) will decide how to invest $204 billion into our region’s transportation infrastructure.

This decision is critical to our livelihood. That much investment will have a tremendous impact on the lives of everyone in our region, particularly the lives of those in San Diego’s urban core where freeways intersect neighborhoods and transit, biking and walking infrastructure is scarce.

How these funds are invested will determine whether our region takes a step toward becoming a forward-thinking, sustainable place or whether we remain driving in circles, stuck in the incessant traffic jam that is our car-first mentality.

SANDAG’s current Regional Transportation Plan labels itself as a “balanced approach.” It claims to give equal attention to transportation options for people traveling by car as it does to those traveling by bike, bus and on foot. It claims to balance the need for better air quality with the need for efficient transportation.

In reality, SANDAG’s plan is anything but balanced.

After decades of prioritizing investment in freeway expansion and ignoring the needs of the most impacted communities, SANDAG should be investing the lion’s share of funds in underserved communities for transit and infrastructure that makes biking and walking safer.

People who live in traditionally underserved communities, including Barrio Logan, City Heights or parts of National City, Chula Vista or Imperial Beach, live with broken or nonexistent sidewalks, a lack of crosswalks to safely navigate traffic and a lack of bike lanes common in many traditionally funded communities. Residents living in a low income neighborhood in the City of San Diego, are ten times more likely to be hit by a car than those that live in most other neighborhoods. This horrifying statistic shouldn’t be a reality when we have $204 billion going toward local transportation improvements.

In San Diego, four freeways (I-5, SR-94, I-15, I-805) run through South Bay neighborhoods, and it’s no coincidence that these communities experience elevated cases of asthma, cancer and heart disease. SANDAG says it is “investing in strategies to relieve traffic congestion which causes air pollution in these communities, such as expanding freeways for carpool lanes and for transit.” This means, SANDAG plans to add freeway lanes to an already well-developed freeway, particularly in communities South of I-8.

Research shows, however, that adding more lanes doesn’t eliminate traffic congestion. This is not a solution, and not something the community wants. Building more lanes on the freeway will only lead to more cars on the road and more toxic pollution, which harms nearby communities the most. If you build it, they will drive.

Travel times between cars and public transit only furthers the obvious imbalance. In San Diego, the average commute time by car is typically 25 minutes. The same commute can take up to two or three times longer on public transit.

The Regional Transportation Plan should prioritize investment in transit to improve travel times, encouraging sustainable options and providing real travel options.

More cars driving on the road mean more fossil fuel emissions. More fossil fuel emissions mean more greenhouse gases, and more greenhouse gases mean more harmful effects of climate change.

SANDAG’s plan to expand freeways directly contradicts the City of San Diego’s Climate Plan goals to reduce local emissions and slow the effects of climate change. Instead, SANDAG should be striving to investment in transportation options that move the most people, in the most efficient, sustainable, healthy and equitable way. If SANDAG can acknowledge the glaring transportation inequality across our region and listen to the unified voice of the community, we can use our $204 billion to make everywhere in San Diego accessible and safe.

Since SANDAG passed its Regional Plan in 2011, it has received hundreds of requests from community representatives across the region, especially in the urban core, for a robust transit network and more investment in infrastructure that will make biking and walking safer in all communities. Communities have requested SANDAG refrain from continuing to add lanes to freeways that only increase the amount of cars, toxic pollution and disease without relieving traffic congestion in the long run. Despite a clear and united resident voice, there has been little-to-no movement in reprioritizing money from freeway expansion projects to transit and active transportation projects.

The 2015 Regional Plan’s freeway lane addition list looks nearly identical to the plan passed in 2011, and that is not a plan we can support.

Just imagine of what $204 billion could do to make San Diego accessible for everyone, everywhere. Where you can take public transit without spending three hours each way in a bus seat. Where you can walk your children to school on a safe sidewalk, away from street traffic. Where you can bike safely on the road with cars.

SANDAG’s plan to expand every freeway south of I-8 is an injustice. Residents in the communities most overburdened by air pollution have said enough.

Enough air pollution. Enough traffic. Enough climate change.

Environmental Health Coalition urges SANDAG to listen to the voice of community and create a truly balanced transportation plan that puts our region on the path to healthy communities.

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Freeways can wait! Our communities and our environment cannot. EHC says "no" to SANDAG's Regional Transportation Plan. The Plan expands freeways that make it harder for residents to get to work on transit. Community members have continually said "no" to expanding four major freeways running through the South Bay, including I-5, I-805, I-15, SR-94. These freeways cut through communities and elevate levels of air pollution, asthma and the effects of climate change.

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SANDAG's plan for our region's transportation future doesn't include the changes we need to see in our neighborhoods: investments in public transit, biking, and walking infrastructure before freeway expansion. EHC urges the SANDAG Board to vote no on Friday, October 9. 

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Read our full letter to SANDAG Board Members.

 The Movement for a Balanced Transportation Future

Read policy advocate Monique López's op-ed, "The Movement for a Balanced Transportation Future."

Who will be San Diego's next great City Councilmember? 

San Diego City Council District 9 is one of the most diverse neighborhoods in the city. There are multiple candidates in the running to succeed Councilmember Marti Emerald and it's up to us to ensure that the next Councilperson is another champion for progressive values. We need a candidate who will stand up for working families, bring good jobs and housing to our neighborhoods and protect our health, government and right. 

That's why we're joining Engage San Diego and other local organizations to host a District 9 Candidate Forum on Wednesday, October 14 from 5 - 7:30 p.m., at Ly's Chinese Restaurant (4350 54th St, San Diego, 92115). Please join us. 

D9 candidate forum