U.S.Customs and Border Protection officials will open a pilot pedestrian Ready Lane at the Otay Mesa port of entry on February 23.  Similar to the existing vehicle Ready Lanes, any traveler with an approved document that has Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology can use the lane for a faster border crossing.  The pedestrianReady Lanewill operate from 4 a.m. until 8 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.  Documents that may be used in theReady Laneare: theU.S.passport card, Trusted Traveler cards (SENTRI/ FAST/Global Entry) and the newer versions of the legal permanent resident and laser visa/border crossing cards issued after 2008.  All travelers over 16 years of age must possess an RFID-enabled card to use the lane.

“This pilot will allow us to test the best ways to leverage existing technology to shorten processing times for travelers crossing the border on foot,” said Chris Maston, director of Field Operations inSan Diego.  “At CBP, we are committed to continuing to find ways to make our border safer and more efficient.”  CBP is installing three new kiosks at the Otay Mesa border crossing for the pedestrianReady Lane.  Travelers eligible to use the pedestrianReady Lanewill approach the facility from the left, in a separate line from general travelers with non-Ready Lane documents.   When a traveler approaches the kiosk they will scan their document, allowing it to be read electronically before they approach the inspection booth.  This allows the CBP officer to receive the traveler’s information in advance, allowing for faster processing while enhancing overall security.  

 CBP officers need real-time access to a traveler’s information to make a rapid and thorough admissibility decision.  By receiving the information in advance after the traveler scans their own document at the kiosk, the CBP officer can focus on the individual instead, improving officer safety and allowing for faster processing.

Starting January 30, 2012 ending Fall 2012 the inspection lanes 17 through 24 located at the west side of the port of entry are closed.

As travelers approach the port of entry from Mexico, they will be redirected to available booths to be processed into the United States.  In addition, 16 extra inspection booths have been added to the remaining 16 lanes to ensure that CBP officials keep port operations and traffic moving smoothly.  With these extra inspection booths, CBP will have the same capacity to process traffic throughout the construction process as is normally available. 

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. General Services Administration, and the city of Tijuana continue working closely together and consulting with traffic management specialists to ensure that traffic redirections are smooth, easy for travelers, and do not impact wait times at the port of entry.

For more information about scheduled traffic changes and the San Ysidro LPOE expansion and renovation project, please visit:

www.gsa.gov/sanysidrolpoe

Otay Mesa, a community within the City of San Diego, located east of I-805 and South of Chula Vista, was developed as an industrial area in 1985 because of the creation of the Otay Mesa Port of Entry. After twenty three years, Otay Mesa has become California’s largest commercial land border port and one of the busiest commercial land border crossings in the United States. Otay Mesa is home to the first Dedicated Commuter Lane, an airport, large parcels of value priced industrial land and numerous economic development incentives programs such as the State Enterprise Zone and the Foreign Trade Zone, both designed to induce companies to locate in the region.

View California Crosborder Traffic Statistics

More recently, development has begun in East Otay Mesa, located in the unincorporated area of the County of San Diego. Plans are already underway in East Otay Mesa to establish a high technology business park.

With the opening of Otay Mesa’s first highway connection – South Bay Expressway , two highways, and over 12, 000 homes under development, Otay Mesa houses more than 1,200 companies with more than 19,000 employees.

San Diego is known for its quality of life, excellent public education, health services, high tech industry and high quality communications. Mexico is known for its world-class manufacturing and inexpensive and skilled labor force. Together Otay Mesa and the Baja California region combine to become a powerhouse for manufacturers. This is one of the reasons why major corporations, such as SANYO, Medtronics, Honeywell, Kyocera and Panasonic, have made significant investments in the San Diego/ Baja California Region.

TWIN PLANTS
In Otay Mesa you will also find major manufacturing facilities operating under the twin plant system, where firms segment their manufacturing processes on both sides of the border.
Many of these twin-plants carry out their capital-intensive process in San Diego and their marketing and reasearch centers and/or their labor-intensive process in Tijuana. Such companies include Honeywell, Parker Hannifin, DJ Orthopedics,SANYO among others.

MANUFACTURERS
Another generation of manufacturing plants -non twin plants- have recently established technology facilities in Otay Mesa. Some examples include defense component manufacturer, Axsys Technologies; metal plate manufacturer, Kojima and french food manufacturer, Cantaré  Foods, among others.

While many companies do locate in Otay Mesa because they sell and ship directly to Mexico, there are more and more companies who locate in Otay Mesa simply to take advantage of the skilled labor force of legal workers commuting from Tijuana every day, by car, bus, bike or even by foot.