-Editorial
Calexico Mayor Victor Legaspi and Mayor Pro Tem Lorenzo Calderon walked along Imperial Avenue on Oct. 14 to meet with local business owners and gather feedback on a proposed traffic realignment that would redirect southbound border traffic from Imperial Avenue to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
The outreach follows the Calexico City Council’s 3-2 vote on Oct. 7 to table a proposed $100,000 budget amendment for engineering and design work associated with the border traffic realignment project.
The proposal, developed by the California Department of Transportation, aims to improve traffic circulation along state Routes 111 and 98 and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. However, concerns about potential economic impacts on businesses along Imperial Avenue prompted council members to seek additional community input before proceeding.
Legaspi, Calderon and Councilwoman Adriana Marquez supported postponing the funding decision to allow further public outreach. Councilwomen Lisa Tylenda and Diana Nuricumbo opposed the delay.
During the visit, Legaspi said the purpose was to hear directly from businesses that could be affected by changes to southbound traffic patterns.
“We’re just getting their feedback. We’re not persuading people,” Legaspi said. “How would they feel if the southbound traffic was moved to Cesar Chavez? And then they’re the ones that are going to tell me.”
Legaspi said he wanted to understand whether the proposed changes would benefit or negatively affect commercial establishments before the city committed additional funding.
“I think this is something that we should have done a long time ago,” Legaspi said. “We’re always talking about transparency, but this is something that we should do before anything is done, even put money down.”
The mayor said that conducting outreach before spending public funds could help prevent unnecessary expenditures if the project ultimately does not move forward.
“Do outreach before we spend money,” Legaspi said. “If we’re gonna be spending money and then it doesn’t go through, that’s $85,000 right there. We can use that money somewhere else.”
Legaspi said he planned to continue visiting businesses along Imperial Avenue, including establishments near the 100 block, and eventually expand outreach to residential neighborhoods on the city’s west and east sides.
He also anticipated holding a town hall meeting to provide residents and business owners an opportunity to express their opinions.
“It’s not a one-day event,” Legaspi said. “It’s going to take a few days, and then obviously in the near future we’re going to have a town hall meeting where people can show up.”
Legaspi acknowledged that attendance at public meetings has sometimes been limited and encouraged residents to participate in City Council discussions, including matters listed on consent agendas.
He also said he had not yet spoken with commissioners of the city’s Business Improvement District about the proposed traffic changes.
Among the businesses visited was ABC Gasoline-Exchange, located at 250 S. Imperial Ave., where manager Jessica Goodwin described the financial consequences of existing traffic restrictions.
Goodwin said closures affecting Imperial Avenue have reduced sales at both the gasoline station and currency exchange business.
“Every time they close Imperial Avenue, sales go down at the gas station and the currency exchange,” Goodwin said in Spanish. “It has had an economic impact. The less money coming in, the fewer hours I can give my employees.”
Goodwin welcomed the decision by city officials to visit businesses directly and hear their concerns.
“I think we deserved this a long time ago,” Goodwin said. “All the merchants in Calexico were waiting for this, to see city officials walking from business to business, meeting the managers and learning about each location.”
She said the city’s border traffic challenges are longstanding but argued that some traffic management measures have made access to local businesses more difficult.
Goodwin acknowledged the need for traffic controls to address accidents and safety concerns but said restrictions on Imperial Avenue have affected small businesses and their employees.
“Closing Imperial Avenue so much is killing us,” Goodwin said. “Not just one business or a corporation, but the employees who depend on the hours we can provide. If there’s no business, there’s no work.”
Other business owners expressed support for redirecting southbound traffic to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
Gloria López, owner of Diamante Business Solution LLC at 919 S. Imperial Ave., said she favored moving traffic to Cesar Chavez Boulevard.
“Honestly, I would like them to move it to Cesar Chavez,” López said adding that traffic often blocks access to her office at peaked hours.
Calderon said the visits revealed differing opinions about the proposed traffic realignment, depending on the type of business and its reliance on vehicle traffic.
“Some merchants want us to change the traffic, and others don’t. It depends on the business,” Calderon said in Spanish.
He noted that currency exchange businesses were among those expressing concerns about redirecting traffic away from Imperial Avenue.
Calderon said the outreach also addressed concerns that merchants had not been consulted when the proposal was initially developed.
