Pedestrian tunnels are public space at its most problematic: lifesavers, nightmares.
With tunnels fear is a given, and the standard solutions for addressing the issue — the security esthetic of gates, intercoms, and billboard-intensity signage; or the distraction esthetic of applied public art — only seem to increase the anxiety.
For these reasons tunnels are a rarity in San Diego* — most were closed decades ago, and city policy now favors bridges.
*The exception, of course, being the border.
