OCTA asks driving public for input

Deirdre Newman

Sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic day after day on the San Diego

Freeway makes drivers wonder when traffic will get moving.

But county transportation officials want the public to think of

how to get traffic moving between the Corona del Mar Freeway in Costa

Mesa and the San Gabriel River Freeway at the Los Angeles County

line.

That is why they are inviting public input on an 18-month study of

improvements for the freeway, which handles more than 300,000 car

trips every day in Orange County.

The request is unusual in the sense that the public will have the

opportunity to brainstorm ideas, instead of commenting on

already-devised plans, like the CenterLine light rail project,

spokesman Ted Nguyen said.

“It’s what we call clean-slate public planning,” Nguyen said.

Throughout the study, Orange County Transportation Authority

officials will meet with an eclectic group, including residents,

elected officials, business people, and community and environmental

leaders. Everyone will be given several opportunities to participate

through a series of community open houses, surveys and a Web site.

Getting solutions that indicate the preferences of the local

communities is key, Nguyen said.

“The public input during this process will help transportation

planners better understand not only the current needs, but the future

transportation needs here in Orange County,” Nguyen said.

After the 18-month study period, the authority will start

preliminary planning on the blueprint of ideas, Nguyen said.

The Web site that will provide information about the 18-month

process is: https://octa.net/405MIS.asp. Those who want to schedule a

presentation where people can comment to county officials in person

can call (714) 560-5972 or send e-mail to [email protected].