Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

U.S. Considers Southbound Border Inspection Stations

An effort at San Diego’s Mexican border to stem the flow of weapons and contraband into Mexico could backfire and is already drawing criticism, the Latin American Herald Tribune reports.

“We also have a responsibility to step up surveillance on people leaving the country in order to shrink the flow of weapons and illicit money used in Mexico’s drug wars,” says U.S. Customs and Border Patrol supervisor Chris Maston, speaking on a proposal to set up U.S.-manned checkpoints for vehicles traveling into Mexico through the San Ysidro port of entry as well as those coming back into the country.

Critics of the plan fear that such a move could create traffic jams that take hours to navigate north of the border, where crossers would first be subject to inspection by U.S. authorities and then by their Mexican counterparts. Such a scenario has long existed for northbound traffic, though a $577 million improvement project underway has a goal of cutting northbound wait times to 30 minutes or less by increasing the total number of inspection lanes to 34 and staffing each lane with two agents instead of one.

Architect and border expert David Flores says that pollution due to the traffic delays in the northbound lanes has been shown to have a significant effect on childhood asthma for communities surrounding the crossing south of the border, and he expects a similar result if southbound crossings are similarly impacted. The expansion project, due to be completed in 2016, is expected to lessen this impact in Mexico.

The Mexican side of the new crossing, however, is expected to be completed much sooner, creating further complications for traffic in the interim, as the Reader reported last March. Construction of the Mexican facilities was proceeding rapidly when we last visited the issue in June.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Woodpeckers are stocking away acorns, Amorous tarantulas

Stunning sycamores, Mars rising

An effort at San Diego’s Mexican border to stem the flow of weapons and contraband into Mexico could backfire and is already drawing criticism, the Latin American Herald Tribune reports.

“We also have a responsibility to step up surveillance on people leaving the country in order to shrink the flow of weapons and illicit money used in Mexico’s drug wars,” says U.S. Customs and Border Patrol supervisor Chris Maston, speaking on a proposal to set up U.S.-manned checkpoints for vehicles traveling into Mexico through the San Ysidro port of entry as well as those coming back into the country.

Critics of the plan fear that such a move could create traffic jams that take hours to navigate north of the border, where crossers would first be subject to inspection by U.S. authorities and then by their Mexican counterparts. Such a scenario has long existed for northbound traffic, though a $577 million improvement project underway has a goal of cutting northbound wait times to 30 minutes or less by increasing the total number of inspection lanes to 34 and staffing each lane with two agents instead of one.

Architect and border expert David Flores says that pollution due to the traffic delays in the northbound lanes has been shown to have a significant effect on childhood asthma for communities surrounding the crossing south of the border, and he expects a similar result if southbound crossings are similarly impacted. The expansion project, due to be completed in 2016, is expected to lessen this impact in Mexico.

The Mexican side of the new crossing, however, is expected to be completed much sooner, creating further complications for traffic in the interim, as the Reader reported last March. Construction of the Mexican facilities was proceeding rapidly when we last visited the issue in June.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Smooth Grand Opening of Tijuana’s New Border Crossing

Next Article

New northbound lanes at San Ysidro POE to open Friday

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader