Vote now on OCTA plans to improve central county's transportation: freeways or bus rapid transit?

Thanks for this. Voted down all freeway projects. Hooray.

A FAR BETTER alternative exists than an enormously expensive "cut and cover" freeway which will NEVER be approved by the residents, or Bus Rapid Transit (which is nothing more than an express bus service which could be offered today -- the bells and whistles that were anticipated from OCTA's first attempt at BRT never materialized -- and how can OCTA be offering more bus service when it's cutting existing service?).

Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) could easily be implemented to run in the Santa Ana River flood control corridor, alongside the OCTA's existing bike paths. Here's a link to presentation (http://www.prtstrategies.com/files/ARTIC--HB13.pps) which illustrates how a PRT alignment could connect the planned Anaheim ARTIC facility with PCH, and then run into both the cities of Newport and Huntington Beach. This creates the opportunity to move over 40 million annual visitors and conventioneers between the Anaheim and Disney Resorts and the attractions at the beach, a huge opportunity to increase tourism and local business and tax revenues. Of course, residents in the central corridor would use PRT a non-stop, dedicated transit system to reach Metrolink service in Anaheim.

Better yet, PRT can be paid for with Measure M funds which are already earmarked for Metrolink connector systems. There's more at http://www.prtstrategies.com/files/River_Strategy_V12.70_.pps as well.

PRT is feasible now, and has been successfully operating in the United States since the late 1970s. New implementations are underway today in Sweden, Dubai and London's Heathrow Airport. A simple dual-track PRT alignment along the River can move the equivalent of a freeway lane worth of riders. PRT can be built for $30 million/mile, a fraction of the cost of a buried freeway.

Everyone's welcome to visit our website for videos, links and simulation of PRT for Orange County. OCTA needs to take a serious look at this other transit alternative.

Hey, how did you get in here with that PRT stuff? Go on, scat. Get on now. Don't let me see you here again!

There should be a hold on this project until proper studies have been made on alternatives that provide clear choices with more balanced transportation and responsible environmental stewardship. In view of SB375 and national and global mandate, we in OC following this highway trend is not in synch if not outrightly exposed to legal challenge.

We are building overcapacity in freeway-only planning to the disadvantage of other priorities for expenditure. OCTA's charge is to provide a "transportation system" and in this regard it has seriously failed, enslaving us to auto-dependent travel and continuing environmental degradation in favor of short-term business opportunities.

Under pressure by lobbyists, the people's interests have taken a back seat. The vocal opposition in Westminster, businesses affected in Fountain Valley, the children exposed to asthma and at risk for cancer, air quality non-compliance, green acreage that are overrun by competing strip malls, the brain flight into less urbanized areas, etc. have not been factored into OCTA's near-sighted planning. Planning with blinders on.

With Will Kempton as the new CEO, we have an opportunity to rethink these plans. Let our views be known to the directors who get easily swayed by the big freeway consulting and construction contracts.

I didn't know how bad the asthma problem was until these past few weeks in pediatrics clinic. We prescribe asthma meds like candy. Albuterol HFA, Qvar MDI, and a splash of Singulair... it's absolutely crazy. This is in Lakewood, a suburb exposed to port pollution in neighboring Long Beach. But the odor in the air isn't that far off from the odor coming from the 5-22-57 Orange Crush freeways (an area where — guess what — Caltrans is proposing another expansion).

Thanks to OCTA M1 we have Orange Crush. Now with M2 we have Skid Row waiting to be fixed.

The problem of Skid Row (see the tire markings?) was well known during project planning. But OCTA ignored it. In fact, FHWA and Caltrans did not sign off on it. Project just got rammed down the pipe for publicity's sake (Art Leahy, ex-CEO now at LA MTA).

Now we have to fix and retrofit for at least $200 m what was recently completed. Perpetual construction, dust, pollution, business disruption.

The right solution should've been to do it right to begin with. Traffic modeling and geometric design were faulty. Should've had separator ramps in advance of choke point. It's not only choked, but it's dangerous weave maneuvers. Excuse given? "we didn't have the land". Very poor excuse, because land acquisition and design planning must go hand in hand. Tow truck companies have at least quadrupled their business since opening in 2007, thanks again to OCTA.

Blinders on the public, again!

Too bad this isn't a joke...subterranean tunnel under the santa ana river....wtf!!

Only problems can come forth...they should fire the management who wasted time on this plan. Preventing water leakage is going to be impossible. Building on sand is a no no. The river recharges the aquifers we use for drinking water....

Dedicated lanes are a complete waste. Look at HOV (carpool).

>Hey, how did you get in here with that PRT stuff? Go on, scat. Get on now. Don't let me see you here again!

Have you seen this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7hgipbHBK8

There goal is not to replace rail with PRT, but to supplement it. A way to get from your office to the train station.

What's wrong with that?

Watch the video. It looks neat.

Take your PRTs, monorails and maglevs and fly them into the moon!

Why are they fixated with paving over the only respite from urbanization that exists in Central Orange County, the Santa Ana River? They should be unpaving it, and restoring it to a natural state. And there is not even a mention of light rail anymore, a promise that was made in order to pass Measure M. Promising one thing and delivering another is called fraud in most places, but to the OCTA, it is business as usual.

I think the biggest problem with Orange County is that it lacks a downtown. San Diego has one. OC is to spread out. No skyline, no skyscrapers. Maybe a few tallish buildings here and there, but those are the exception. Even those are under 20 or so floors.

I hear Anaheim wants to become Orange County's downtown. That may take a couple generations. Maybe then Orange County will be ready to get serious about transit. Until then, all we can do is hope.

Thanks for that link. I also voted down all the freeway "improvements". Also, I went to that 405 widening meeting on October 1st. The really audacious thing is that they argue that expanding the freeway will actually help the environment (by ignoring the fact that the freeways will fill up again and be moving more cars at the same low speeds within a decade or two).

What OCTA should do is work with LACMTA to extend the Green Line into Orange County. That should lighten the commute for those who commute to LA.

I know Metro has it in their Measure R plans to do a possible BRT or Green Line light rail link to Santa Ana, but Santa Ana's council seems to be trumpeting their little streetcar to Garden Grove, which would take over the route Metro and OCTA proposed for the OC-LA intercounty transit link.
I think the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.