Emergency Services for South University City

South University City is principally served by three fire/rescue stations (see the map below): from the North, Station 35 (4285 Eastgate Mall); from the South, Station 27 (5064 Clairemont Drive); from the West, Station 9 (7870 La Jolla Parkway).

From time to time one hears the argument that the Regents Road bridge would improve emergency services coverage of South University City by providing another route for Station 35. The image of a fire engine or ambulance stuck in traffic on Genesee Avenue is indeed troubling, but would the bridge really help?

We should ask ourselves two questions. First, does South University City currently suffer from inadequate emergency services coverage? Second, would the Regents Road bridge significantly improve emergency response times, and how would the bridge compare with the Genesee Avenue widening or Genesee Avenue underpass (grade separation) in this regard?

When the 2003 Public Working Committee ranked its list of evaluation criteria, "improve emergency response times" appeared almost at the very bottom of the list, receiving only two votes from the 21 committee members present. By contrast, "provide congestion relief" received 18 votes, and "minimize impacts on natural environment" received 11 votes. (The complete ranked list of criteria appears on page 7 of the PWC final report.)

Nevertheless, recent data from the City of San Diego Fire Department reveal that certain areas of South University City currently fall below the desired six-minute threshold in terms of emergency response times (see here). However, the areas deficient in coverage are almost all either along Genesee Avenue or east of Genesee Avenue. The best way to improve coverage of these areas vis-a-vis Station 35 is to relieve traffic congestion on Genesee Avenue itself.