The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) on Tuesday presented its draft 2025 regional plan to the Santee City Council, describing a 25‑year blueprint for transportation that emphasizes more frequent transit, microtransit pilots and multimodal connections while noting the plan must meet several state and federal requirements before final adoption.

The plan matters to Santee because it maps regional projects that affect local highways and transit and includes a financial plan to pay for them, SANDAG deputy director for sustainable communities Chuere Faola said at the council meeting.

“We are the regional transportation planning agency. We plan and build all of the large transportation projects throughout the region,” Chuere Faola said. She told the council SANDAG has preserved more than 9,000 acres of natural resources to date and runs programs such as a free Youth Opportunity Pass for riders 18 and under and a smart‑growth incentive grant program for cities.

SANDAG senior regional planner Mimi Morisaki outlined projects and policies proposed for East County. Among the transit proposals are trolley safety improvements that would separate tracks from pedestrians and autos, seven new rapid bus routes (including a Rapid 880 line planned to run from El Cajon through Santee to UC San Diego), more frequent local bus and trolley service, extended service hours and station amenities such as restrooms and shade. Morisaki also said SANDAG is readying a pilot grant for on‑demand, 8‑ to 10‑passenger microtransit shuttles.

At the council’s request, Jake Stelton, Caltrans project manager for District 11, provided two SR‑52 project updates. He said the near‑term SR‑52 “DIPs” construction — a compaction‑grouting approach drilled through pavement over the Old Miramar Landfill to reduce uneven settlement — is in construction, is a year ahead of schedule and is expected to be open to traffic by the end of the month. Stelton said that project includes an eastbound auxiliary lane from I‑15 to Santo Road, upgraded barriers and eight maintenance vehicle pullouts and cost about $73,000,000.

Stelton described a separate SR‑52 operational improvements project that has just entered Caltrans’ environmental study phase. The study will evaluate relocating a two‑way westbound bike path to the eastbound shoulder to allow a truck‑climbing lane, adding a managed lane that could prioritize transit and carpools (and possibly tolling), reconfiguration of the Mass Boulevard westbound on‑ramp, and re‑striping the San Diego River Bridge to study adding a lane. He said the preliminary cost estimate is about $80,000,000 and that Caltrans anticipates environmental studies and design would take several years before construction could begin around 2030.

Council members asked when construction would begin and why environmental work was necessary if prior studies existed. Stelton and SANDAG staff said much of the earlier environmental work was paused and, in some cases, led by a private developer; Caltrans must now resume or update studies so the state’s environmental requirements are satisfied. Chuere Faola emphasized the plan uses the latest planning assumptions and that SANDAG coordinated with cities and other agencies through workshops and working groups and received more than 2,000 online comments during plan development.

No formal council action was taken; SANDAG’s draft plan remains available for public comment at sandag.org/2025regionalplan, Chuere Faola said. The presentation included requests for local feedback on project phasing and station amenities.

Santee residents raised questions during public comment about the plan’s emphasis on reduced vehicle miles traveled and use of managed or tolled lanes, and about privacy and vendor selection for city traffic‑management technology; those comments were public comment and not part of Caltrans’ or SANDAG’s presentation.

Looking ahead, SANDAG’s next steps include continued public comment and refinement of the financial program; Caltrans plans to complete its environmental studies before design and construction of the SR‑52 operational improvements.