The Trolley is coming to Clairemont, take it or leave it. Long overdue and years in planning our community will soon be home to a wider network of mass transit and this is certainly for good measure. The fear mongers and their paradise lost mantra will soon fade into another San Diego sunset.
by Daniel Smiechowski
America’s Finest City together with the community of Clairemont will soon enter the twenty first century with other great public transit as the Tube in London, The Metro in Paris and the Subway in New York. Welcome aboard! The golden age of the automobile will soon be a distant memory. The naysayer’s contention of increased crime and lower property values amount to a crock of red herring. I catch the Trolley at SDSU on a regular basis and have not witnessed any sort of crime. Having a degree in Real Estate together with thirty nine years as a licensed sales agent, I would propose that property values will increase rather than decline in value with the Trolleys arrival. Rents will also rise along the trolley route as more commuters seek an inexpensive and efficient way to work, shopping and entertainment. I personally sat on the Clairemont Planning Committee during the early nineties when this project first appeared on community radar. Where was the frightened opposition at the outset?
The moving force of the Trolley extension, SANDAG, aka the San Diego Association of Governments has done everything according to Hoyle. The good people at this organization are worthy of our support and gratitude. Back in the eighties, a contingent of notable San Diegans, including former Mayor Maureen O’Connor traveled to Europe in order to gain greater insight with respect to light rail mass transit. While a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, I rode light rail transit every day to classes and it proved most desirable. In a few years, residents will have efficient transportation to the US Mexican border, La Jolla, SDSU and points in between.
There exists no rational and logical basis to oppose the trolley. The proposed Balboa Avenue station at Morena Boulevard could not be better suited for passenger travel both north and south with connections in Old Town to points east as far as Santee. Welcome aboard and bon voyage!
Be nice, do good deeds and don’t be a stranger as we at the Clairemont Times value your participation.
Daniel J.Smiechowski has been a resident of Clairemont since 1967 and can be reached asmiechowskid@aol.com or 858.220.4613
