Choosing a Route to Better Traffic

SANTA ANA —  A swath stretching from Fullerton to Irvine, which contains more than half the county’s jobs and a third of its residents, will come under scrutiny beginning today when a major study of future transportation options is unveiled.

The two-year effort, presented for the first time to the Orange County Transportation Authority’s board, details six alternatives for improving transportation in the 28-mile-long, 6-mile-wide corridor, the county’s most heavily traveled.

The most far-reaching alternative is a $1.7-billion elevated light rail line.

The long-awaited release of the Major Investment Study Draft Evaluation Report will begin a four-month period of public discussion, culminating in a decision this fall.

“There’s a future challenge in this corridor,” said Nancy Michali, the OCTA’s manager of transit planning, whose staff prepared the study.

About 5.1 million trips a day--more than 60% of the county’s total--occur to, from, or within the corridor, which touches 10 cities, Michali said. And by 2015, she said, that number is expected to reach 6.9 million.

“This is the heart of Orange County, containing the majority of its economic, civic, cultural and educational destinations,” Michali said. “The question is: How can we accommodate all that traffic?”

The $3-million study details and analyzes six possible answers, the first of which is to simply do nothing.

“We needed kind of a baseline for the sake of comparison,” Michali said.

The other alternatives are:

* Improve roads, bus and rail systems without adding anything new;

* Add more buses and bus routes;

* Add carpool lanes to freeways and extend the Orange Freeway in the form of a toll road;

* Build an elevated light-rail system on new track between Fullerton and Irvine;

* Build a partly elevated rail system using Metrolink lines.

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The estimated costs of implementing the solutions range from $140 million to improve the existing road system, to more than $2 billion for new carpool lanes. The two rail alternatives each would cost about $1.7 billion, some of which would come from Measure M funds identified specifically for rail.

Other potential sources of money include the federal and state governments.

According to Michali, the study began with 100 alternatives, which were winnowed to 10 and then to six.

Not everyone, however, is happy with the results of that process.

Jack Mallinckrodt, director of Drivers for Highway Safety, said the study’s major flaw is that it eliminated the idea of building more freeways or adding regular lanes to existing freeways.

“I believe that the alternative they dropped is, far and away, the most cost-effective alternative,” he said.

“I am really outraged by this thing. They dropped it for politically correct reasons, and I don’t think we can afford to play politically correct games with our transportation future.”

Mallinckrodt’s argument, expressed frequently at OCTA board meetings, has found at least one listener: Don Saltarelli, who became the board’s newest member in October.

“There’s no question, in my mind, that Jack has a point,” Saltarelli said. “I think the study is somewhat flawed. In my view, it would have been better to have an individual study of that alternative.”

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According to Michali, the idea of adding more traditional freeway lanes was dropped early in the study because it lacked support in public surveys and because it would not reduce auto emissions.

Ultimately, however, the public may decide.

The final choice, transportation officials said, will be largely based on the opinions expressed through October at a series of public meetings beginning this week.

“No one alternative is a silver bullet,” Michali said. “What we may end up with is a combination of approaches.”

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Corridor Forums

The OCTA will have several open houses for the community to learn more and express opinions about the corridor:

City: Anaheim

Date: Saturday

Time: 9 a.m. to noon

Place: Bethany Hall at St. Boniface Church

Address: 120 N. Janss St.

Telephone: (714) 956-3110

City: Costa Mesa

Date: June 28

Time: 2 to 7 p.m.

Place: Wyndham Garden Hotel

Address: 3350 Ave. of the Arts

Telephone: (714) 751-5100

City: Fullerton

Date: Thursday

Time: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Place: Fullerton Senior Multi-Service Center

Address: 340 W. Commonwealth Ave.

Telephone: (714) 738-6305

City: Irvine

Date: June 19

Time: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Place: Irvine City Hall

Address: 1 Civic Center Plaza

Telephone: (714) 724-6620

City: Laguna Hills

Date: Wednesday

Time: 4:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Place: South O.C. Assn. of Realtors

Address: 25552 E. La Paz Road

Telephone: (714) 586-6800

Website

Receive more information and a survey at: https://www.octa.co.orange.

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Source: OCTA

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Commuter Future

Six options for a new transportation corridor have been drafted by the Orange County Transportation Authority. Two of the plans focus on completing currently funded projects or using existing systems more fully. One plan for a bus- based system adds 200 express buses and doubles local bus service. A closer look at the three other alternatives:

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Carpool Lanes / Tollway

Estimated Annual Commuters: 389 million.

Cost: $2.03 billion.

Pro: Commuters still rely on cars; encourages carpooling.

Con: Most expensive; doesn’t improve non-auto-based transit; strong environmental impact on Santa Ana River Channel.

* Extends Orange Freeway south along Santa Ana River to the San Diego Freeway.

* Adds carpool lanes along Corona del Mar Freeway.

* Improves interchanges with new connections and auxiliary lanes.

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Rail System

Estimated Annual Commuters: 406 million.

Cost: $1.67 billion.

Pro: Serves highest transit demand area; rail perceived as fast, economical.

Con: Affects historic sites; rail unproven in county.

* Builds elevated rail system between Fullerton and Irvine transportation centers.

* Bus routes provide better access to rail stations.

* Increases access to other rail systems.

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Metrolink Rail System

Estimated Annual Commuters: 405 million.

Cost: $1.70 billion.

Pro: Provides closest service to South Coast Plaza; does not affect historic areas.

Con: Does not serve highest transit demand areas- Harbor Boulevard and downtown Santa Ana.

* Uses existing railroad right- of- ways.

* Bus routes provide more access to rail stations.

* Relies on existing Amtrak and Metrolink commuter rail right- of- way.

Source: OCTA