Orange County Register: Express checkpoint lane closes

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Express checkpoint lane closes

Effort to speed up commuters at San Clemente border check ends this week from lack of use.

By JIM RADCLIFFE
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

SAN CLEMENTE – A five-year experiment to speed up traffic through the U.S. Border Patrol's San Clemente checkpoint ended this week.

The Pre-enrolled Access Lane, or PAL, allowed commuters to apply for a transponder that let them go through the checkpoint on the San Diego (I-5) Freeway without slowing down for inspection by agents. PAL was not available to commercial vehicles, which must go through the adjacent scale area.

PAL closed Wednesday.

"There weren't enough people going through the lane, and not enough new people registering to justify the expense of running the PAL office, the background checks and the transponders," said agent Kurstan Rosberg, a Border Patrol spokesman. The number of vehicles that used PAL and the expected savings were not available Tuesday afternoon, Rosberg said.

(snip)

Applicants for PAL had to provide documents showing proof of U.S. citizenship or immigration status, employment, residency and auto insurance.

(snip)

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/article_1052109.php

to start with. Wouldn't the "terraists" have loved this or what?

no thank, I'd rather wait in traffic