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A joint economy that creates more jobs on both sides of the border. A binational hub of technological, cultural and culinary innovation. An ever-closer collaboration on shared water resources. A united regional voice that echoes loudly in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City.

By Sandra Dibble | San Diego Union Tribune
4:28 P.M.JAN. 26, 2013


Long waits to enter the United States at the San Ysidro Port of Entry have been a focus for both countries. JOHN GIBBINS • U-T

TIJUANA — A joint economy that creates more jobs on both sides of the border. A binational hub of technological, cultural and culinary innovation. An ever-closer collaboration on shared water resources. A united regional voice that echoes loudly in Washington, D.C., and Mexico City.

These are the dreams of people pushing for stronger ties between Tijuana and San Diego.

Despite numerous efforts over the years, the two cities have remained distant neighbors on many fronts. Following a difficult decade that saw tighter U.S. security measures, drug violence in Mexico, a drop in U.S. visitors to Baja California and an economic downturn on both sides, vows by San Diego Mayor Bob Filner to boost binational ties have reawakened visions of the region’s myriad possibilities.

“There is an enormous potential for connections that have not been made, of ties that haven’t been woven,” said Tonatiuh Guillén López, president of Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a Tijuana-based think tank with offices along Mexico’s northern border.

“San Diego and Tijuana have a shared destiny,” said Teddy Cruz, co-director of the Center for Urban Ecologies at UC San Diego. The region must be re-imagined, he said, “not only through issues of security, but through shared natural and socioeconomic resources.”

Above all, there must be “a culture shift,” said Diane Takvorian of the San Diego-based Environmental Health Coalition, which has projects in both countries.

“I have always felt that San Diego has shunned its border location,” she said.

Filner is not starting from scratch. Cross-border collaboration has taken place at numerous levels, inside and outside of City Hall. San Diego’s previous mayor, Jerry Sanders, championed efforts to promote the shared region and nurtured ties with two Tijuana mayors — Jorge Ramos and Carlos Bustamante.

“Mayor Sanders brought attention once again on the border,” said Alejandra Mier y Terán, executive director of the Otay Mesa Chamber of Commerce. “I think Mayor Filner can take it to the next level with his contacts in D.C. and congressional know-how.”

Here are some areas that champions of binational ties say would benefit from forceful leadership, stronger commitment and greater resources:

BORDER CROSSINGS

There is broad agreement on one issue: Something must be done about long northbound waits at the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa border crossings. Pedestrians and drivers often wait for hours to reach inspection booths, the result of travel-document and security requirements after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

With rising congestion has come a dramatic decline in crossings: Noncommercial, northbound crossings at the Otay Mesa and San Ysidro ports of entry totaled 40.6 million in fiscal 2011, compared with 61.5 million in 2003, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“It’s very difficult to have two cities doing business together, sharing cultural events, visiting family and friends … when the border waits are so long,” said José Larroque, a Tijuana attorney who co-chairs the Smart Border Coalition, a binational group that has long lobbied for more efficient crossings.

Border crossings are the federal government’s domain. But Larroque and others are counting on Filner’s two decades as a congressman representing the California border to help push for funds to complete a $583 million upgrade of the San Ysidro port, as well as expansion of the Otay Mesa vehicle and commercial inspection facilities.


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It would appear that there is greater interest on cross-border agreements to solve the border crossing problem but the bottleneck is at the federal level. Until they fund the completion of the San Ysidro work we will all continue to see the delays to cross the border.Maybe they should be putting some of those tunnels to work?