The mayor of Santee sat on one end of the long board room table. A representative from Tijuana sat across from him. To his left was a tourism expert from Rosarito and an official from Tecate.
Friday marked the ninth meeting ever of the so-called Border’s Committee, a joint meeting of U.S. and Mexico officials to discuss border infrastructure projects.
Among the ideas discussed was a four-year bi-national university in Chula Vista. It’s an idea that was first pitched about 10 years ago, according to the project consultant.
Denise Ducheny, a former state senator, now says 375 acres of land have been secured for the project. It’s located in Eastern Chula Vista, east of State Route 125, west of the Olympic Training Center and about four miles from the international border.
“The elementary school district in Chula Vista already has 19 schools with dual language immersion. We want those same kids to grow up and have a college they can go to," said Ducheny.
She said recruiting has started to identify potential partner institutions.
“How it gets shaped, I think, is still up to creativity. So at this stage, we’re saying here’s a vision, come help us, universities, think about what part you could play and how you might make this work,” said Ducheny.
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Also discussed at the meeting was a plan to create a Rapid Bus Transit system in Tijuana. Design plans show it would cover 30 percent of Tijuana with 127 routes.
