Safety of border ped crossing questioned
U.S. and Mexican authorities gathered at the San Ysidro Port of Entry on Friday to celebrate the opening of the new PedWest entrance for those crossing on foot from Tijuana to San Diego. But a temporary access structure on the Mexican side now has become the object of rising criticism.
The Tijuana Economic Development Council and Tijuana Mayor Jorge Astiazáran have publicly questioned its safety. On Monday, the Chula Vista-based South County Economic Development Council followed suit.
A letter signed by Cindy Gompper-Graves, the council’s president, cited reports of “the structure swaying, making noises, shaking, separating and sinking.” It was addressed to Marcela Celorio, the Mexican consul general in San Diego, and Will Ostick, the U.S. consul general in Tijuana, and demanded that “a licensed and reputable engineer conduct a complete inspection to ensure the facility is structurally sound and that it can support the weight of pedestrians.”
How to navigate the new pedestrian border crossing at the San Ysidro Port of Entry
Cruzar la frontera usando PedWest
The structure in question is about three yards wide and 500 yards long and leads from a pedestrian bridge to Mexico’s El Chaparral Port of Entry. It consists of scaffolding-like sheets of stainless steel with supporting beams, wood supports and electricity, and enclosed with loose metal wire fencing.
Officials with INDAABIN, the Mexican agency in charge of building federal projects, have defended the structure as one that will serve adequately for six months until a permanent once can be completed in December.
“It meets with all safety standards,” Carlos de la Fuente, the agency’s director of construction and appraisals, said Friday at PedWest’s opening.
Astiazáran praised PedWest on Friday for “symbolizing a bond of trust and brotherhood between Mexico and the United States.” But after touring the site of the access structure on Saturday, he urged those who are elderly, handicapped or pushing strollers to avoid crossing at PedWest, citings its uneven surface, and instead use the entrance on the eastern side of the vehicle lanes.
“We Tijuanenses don’t deserve these installations,” Astiazáran told Tijuanapress.com. He said the city is prepared to underwrite any improvements necessary to guarantee the structure’s safety. City inspectors have looked over the structure and sent their report to INDAABIN, he said.
sandra.dibble@sduniontribune.com
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