The community of San Ysidro is celebrating –albeit with some reservations—the announcement of the securing of the final funding needed to complete a sidewalk that would connect San Ysidro with its high school.

The sidewalk would provide a safe way for San Ysidro High School students to walk to and from school. Currently, and since the school opened in 2002, students walk to school on a dirt path along a steep canyon, along a winding road.

San Diego City Council District 8 Councilmember David Alvarez made the announcement of the final funds at a press conference in San Ysidro on Wednesday, June 18th, where he was joined by community residents and leaders.

“A sidewalk in this location is vital to the students that use this route to go to and from school,” Alvarez said. “The community has been advocating for the construction of this sidewalk for far too long. For the entire time I have been in office, this has been and continues to be one of my top priorities.”

But this isn’t the first time San Ysidro has heard this news. In the past, other District 8 representatives, from Ralph Inzunza to Ben Hueso have tried to build the sidewalk, according to Hector Espinoza, principal at San Ysidro High School.

“This is the third or fourth time I’ve heard this in 13 years,” Espinoza said. “I’ve heard it before.”

A safe pedestrian pathway for students to walk to school has been promised by San Diego city officials and area developers since the San Ysidro High School opened in 2002.

Espinoza said that the major difference is that this time, Alvarez is working with Mayor Kevin Faulconer to make this sidewalk a reality.

“This time is more substantial,” he said. “The mayor supports it. Before, no mayor would get involved in this issue.”

After many years of delays, Councilmember Alvarez guided the Otay Mesa Public Facilities Financing Plan to Council approval on March 11, providing the necessary funding for this project to move forward. The project includes installation of sidewalks, curb, gutter, guardrail, curb ramps, retaining walls, streetlights, striping, and a street structural section. Installation will be on both sides of Otay Mesa Road. The anticipated start date for this project is Spring of 2015.

Many San Ysidro residents and students, organized by social services agency Casa Familiar, have had monthly community walks to demand that the city to fulfill its promise of building a safe pathway for students.

“Throughout the years Casa Familiar has seen the risk these students face when walking from San Ysidro to their high school in Otay Mesa”, said Andrea Skorepa, executive director at Casa Familiar. “We have seen the positive impact these community walks have had. The announcement made by Councilmember Alvarez gives us hope, but we will continue with the community walks until the project’s groundbreaking.”

Espinoza said that San Ysidro High School students receive free transportation to and from school, because of the safety issue. He said that around 100 to 200 students choose to walk to school everyday, using the dirt path on Otay Mesa Road.

He added that this would never happen in other, more affluent, areas of the City of San Diego.

“This is just unacceptable,” he said.

The principal said that students and their parents need to keep putting pressure on the city to meet its construction timeline.

“If March, 2015, comes around, and they haven’t started building it, they will hear from all of us,” he said.
Skorepa said that San Ysidro deserves better.

“We’re a small community that deserves the best public services and this sidewalk where our children can walk to school is the minimum we should receive,” she said.