Gillespie Field station explained

Style:San Diego Trolley
Gillespie Field
Address:1990 North Cuyamaca Street
Borough:Santee, California
Country:United States
Coordinates:32.8271°N -116.9821°W
Owned:San Diego Metropolitan Transit System
Operator:San Diego Trolley
Platforms:2 side platforms
Tracks:2
Structure:At-grade
Parking:175 spaces[1]
Bicycle:8 rack spaces, 2 lockers[2]
Code:75022, 75023[3]
Opened:[4]
Rebuilt:2005
Former:Weld Boulevard (1995–2005)
Other Services Header:Future services
Mapframe:yes
Mapframe-Zoom:14

Gillespie Field station (formerly Weld Boulevard station) is a Green Line station of the San Diego Trolley in the San Diego suburb of Santee, California. It is located across Marshall Avenue from Gillespie Field, a county airport, however there is no public access to the airport and the surrounding area is sparse and largely unwalkable. The station has no bus connections, therefore most passengers who use the station also use the 175 space park and ride lot.

History

Gillespie opened as part of the fourth and final segment of the East Line (now Orange Line) on July 26, 1995, which extended the physical line from to . With the opening of the new Green Line in July 2005,[5] this service was replaced, and Orange Line trolleys began to terminate at this station. This was due to the path between Gillespie Field and Santee Town Center being single tracked, and having two lines running on that route would cause operational issues.[6]

Orange Line service was further truncated to on September 2, 2012, as part of a system redesign due to low ridership between the two stations, so only the Green Line now serves this station.[7]

It was ranked worst rail station in California in a 2015 UC Berkeley School of Law study, due to its sparse, unwalkable location and lack of ridership.[8] Study co-author Elkind was quoted in the press, “I almost wondered if there was really a station out there or if we got the GPS wrong. It looked like cow pastures.”[9]

Station layout

There are two tracks, each served by a side platform. Just north of the station, service merges onto a single track.

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Transit Station Parking . June 4, 2024 . . en.
  2. Web site: Interactive San Diego Regional Bike Map . June 4, 2024 . San Diego Association of Governments.
  3. Web site: Schedules & Real Time . April 9, 2020 . San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.
  4. Web site: May 22, 2015 . History . April 9, 2020 . San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.
  5. Web site: 2013 . MTS Historical Timeline . June 29, 2013 . San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.
  6. News: July 3, 2005 . East extension means changes in routes, timetables . https://web.archive.org/web/20140224042528/http://www.utsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050703/news_lz1n3extnsion.html . February 24, 2014 . September 15, 2012 . U-T San Diego.
  7. Web site: September 2, 2012 Service Changes. Major Bus and Trolley Service Changes . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150430054758/http://www.sdmts.com/Planning/ServiceChangesSeptember2012.asp . April 30, 2015 . San Diego Metropolitan Transit System.
  8. Web site: Elkind . Ethan N. . Chan . Michelle . Faber . Tuong-Vi . Grading California's Rail Transit Station Areas . June 19, 2020 . UC Berkeley School of Law/Next10.
  9. Web site: Srikrishnan . Maya . October 19, 2015 . The Case of the Worst-Ranked Transit Station in California . June 19, 2020 . Voice of San Diego.