
“And I… I took the Trak less traveled by,” said literature major Carol Quickley.
Photo by Jordan Whitlow
Starting in Fall 2025, UC San Diego will be introducing a walking FasTrak lane to Ridge Walk “for students in a hurry,” according to a recent press release from UCSD Transportation Services. The Summer 2025 construction project will reportedly entail bulldozing all trees and plants between the existing walking and bike lanes, laying cement for the new lane, and installing 35 automatic scanners.
“We know the school’s been making efforts to incorporate green spaces and whatnot on campus. That’s all well and good,” said one architect on the Ridge Walk Design/Build Team. “But we were tasked with easing the foot traffic on Ridge Walk, so we’ll do what we need to do. Never fear, students: we’re adding another lane!”
A recent Transportation Services survey revealed a distinct lack of student concern regarding the project, aside from discontent with the fees the lane will require. “We promise, these fees are going to be totally reasonable,” said Transportation Services representative Adelaine Richards in a response to these results. “This isn’t going to be anything like the cost of living on campus, or the overpriced dining hall food, or the overpriced textbooks, or those times we raised the price of parking. We want to help students get to class on time, and there is no ulterior motive for this… Yeah.”
The 35 scanners along the lane will detect any student who uses the Ridge Walk FasTrak Lane and automatically deduct funds from their student account. Transportation Services emphasized that students may only use the lane after completing the online UCSD FasTrak Pass registration. “As always, we took care in ensuring that the registration process was as easy and streamlined as possible,” said Richards. “All you have to do is log in with your UCSD email credentials, click on ‘All Student Forms’ at the bottom of the ‘Personal Tools & Forms’ dropdown menu, find ‘UCSD FasTrak Pass Registration’ in the sidebar labeled ‘See Also’, click the PDF link embedded in the registration information, and scroll to the secret third page of the PDF. It’s just a bunch of terms and regulations; don’t read too much into it. There, you’ll find the ‘Register Now’ button — you might have to refresh the page a couple of times. Then, all you’ve got to do is simply click the link that may or may not be emailed to you within 3–5 business days, re-sign in with your UCSD email credentials, fill out a quick 45-minute survey on your experience with Transportation Services, and then simply input your student information!”
According to the ghost of Robert E. Alexander, the original architect of UCSD’s campus who has been aiding current campus architects on their construction endeavors, this addition is “all a part of the plan.”
“Will this destroy some of your precious ‘green spaces?’ Yes, of course,” said Alexander’s unearthly spirit. “But this campus was not built for green spaces. It was built for lecture halls. It was built for research. It was built for dormitories. Anything that will facilitate long commutes across campus will be well worth it. If my glorious 12-college plan is coming to fruition anytime soon, it’s simply what must be done.”