CBP gives ‘go ahead’ for proposed fast pass pedestrian crossing at San Ysidro, Baja official says
SAN DIEGO (Border Report) — Kurt Honold Morales, Baja’s Secretary of the Economy and Innovation, says a border project called CBX Pedestrian has cleared a major hurdle.
Honold Morales says U.S. Customs and Border Protection has given the “go ahead” to a plan that would give pre-screened pedestrians who purchase a ticket fast access into the United States through a special walkway at the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
It is patterned after the Cross Border Xpress in Otay Mesa, which connects travelers in San Diego with Tijuana’s international airport.
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“It’s been authorized by CBP, they are working directly with us, looking at logistics,” Honold Morales said.
The special lane, or walkway as some are calling it, would be built on land owned by the state of Baja California on the south side of the border.
Passengers will pay a monthly fee for daily access.
Honold Morales says the plan is to have the operators of the CBX in Otay Mesa operate the new lane once it is built in San Ysidro.
“They’ll run it just like the facility at the airport, but at street level,” he said. “The fee will be more affordable than the one at the airport.”
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Honold Morales stated pedestrians will be able to pick their crossing times, something that will help CBP prepare and assign the right amount of personnel to handle the flow of commuters through the special lane.
He believes this new access point will also reduce vehicular traffic by 20 percent as more commuters will choose to walk across quickly and then take public transportation north of the border.
Honold Morales did not provide a timeline for the project.
But the project may not be as far along as Honold Morales believes it to be.
A spokesperson with CBP tells Border Report “there is nothing confirmed on this.” And that it’s “all preliminary discussion.”
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