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Traffic Chaos Amid Heightened Border Security

Baja Businesses Feeling Financial Sting Of Attack

POSTED: 6:57 p.m. PDT September 19, 2001
UPDATED: 8:18 a.m. PDT September 20, 2001

Travelers moving across the U.S.-Mexico border aren't moving very fast.

Depending on the time of day, and which border crossing you choose, you may find yourself facing a three-to-four hour sit getting into the United States, 10News reported. The delay is being blamed on the fact that security has been stepped up in the wake of last week's terrorist attack.

The Sept. 11 has had a dramatic affect on the lives of thousands of daily border crossers. Many are leaving their cars behind in Mexico, in hopes of hitting a shorter wait through the pedestrian crossing, 10News reported.

But chances are, they won't save much time. So many have had the same idea that waits at the pedestrian crossing have stretched to more than two hours. That's compared with what is usually no more than a 10-minute wait.

In Tijuana, parking lots that just a week ago held only a dozen cars, now boast hundreds of vehicles.

"I'm considering getting a motorcycle so I can get through to the front, or changing the times that I try to cross," Tijuana resident Lawrence Trimble told 10News.

Despite all the trouble, however, 10News didn't find anyone who opposed the security crackdown.

As Jaime Lozano waited in his truck Wednesday, he proudly waved the U.S. flag. He told 10News that he supported the U.S. goal of stamping out terrorism.

But on the usually bustling Avenida Revolucion, officials are concerned that the attacks may stamp out tourism.

Tourism is a major factor in the economy of Baja California, from the restaurants and shops of Tijuana to the beach resorts of Cabo San Lucas at the southern end of the peninsula.

The Association of Mexican Travel Agencies said that tourist traffic has plummeted 80 percent since last week in southern Baja California.

Precise figures weren't available for the decline in the border area. But the Tijuana visitors bureau said there has been a considerable drop in business along Revolucion.


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