Letters to the Editor: Do we really need to repair coastal rail between L.A. and San Diego?

To the editor: The Times’ Feb. 9 editorial on the coastal rail line between San Diego and Los Angeles raises an essential Southern California policy issue as we decide how to spend scarce infrastructure dollars. However, we feel that the options currently being considered by the transportation agencies and implicitly endorsed by your editorial are based on questionable assumptions.

The recurring closures of the rail corridor due to crumbling bluffs in Del Mar and San Clemente underscore the imperative for action. However, is it wise to spend 11 years and $20 billion ($4 million per average daily round-trip rider) to sustain the southernmost 60-mile segment from San Clemente to San Diego?

In this stretch, passenger use is in decline, limited cargo is hauled (only 0.04% of California’s total), and alternatives for point-to-point transport via smart technology-enabled entities like Uber and electric buses are growing.

Moreover, a rails-to-trails conversion along this span could offer exciting possibilities for sustainable, efficient, healthy and equitable recreation and transportation for many more people than the train will likely serve.

We have world-class universities in our region that can help study transportation alternatives to find the most cost-effective and sustainable ways to serve our needs. Let’s seize this opportunity to redefine coastal mobility in a holistic and evidence-based manner that safeguards our environment, promotes public health, encourages tourism and ensures the resilience of our transportation infrastructure for generations to come.

Peter Cramton and Kevin Patrick, Del Mar

Cramton is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Maryland, and Patrick is a professor emeritus of public health at UC San Diego.