OCTA presents new study with transit, freeway, arterial proposed improvements in Central Orange County

EDIT June 24, 2010: I got this email from Tamara Warren, project manager for corridor studies at OCTA, to clarify some of my errors in my original post. I've asked her for permission to post:

I would like to correct two points in the note.  The note mentions that the SR-22 connectors are part of the City of Santa Ana’s Go Local project.  This is not true.  Although the ramps are of interest to the City of Santa Ana and they would like to pursue further study, they are not part of their Go Local project.  The concept of ramps from the SR-22 connecting motorists to downtown Santa Ana utilizing the PEROW is part of the City of Santa Ana’s long term vision for the area. 

The note also mentions that Santa Ana’s Go Local project would prevent SCAG’s Pacific Electric corridor project.  OCTA owns the PEROW and along with all of the cities on the PEROW we are working in partnership with SCAG on their corridor study.  SCAG is coordinating with the City of Santa Ana with the intent to ensure whatever proposals come out of the SCAG study, they will complement each other and work in tandem and not prevent either effort.  I would appreciate it if you would correct the wording below to ensure the information being shared is accurate.  

Again, I really appreciate your interest in our CCCMIS study and for helping us get the word out on our study effort. Please let me know if you have any questions. 

OCTA staff are finalizing a set of options to present to the OCTA board and local governments on how to relieve congestion in central Orange County, based on a projected 15%-20% increase in population and congestion.

OCTA's staff are proposing the following ideas and this week have been soliciting feedback in workshops in the community. I went to their Fountain Valley meeting and a handful of people showed up, but from what I heard from other community members, improving transit service was a concern. Below is a comprehensive map of their proposals. Note that right now the team's survey will very likely gauge public support for these proposals; my guess is that OCTA's Board will cherry-pick from this list based on what people in Orange County vote on.

In other words, take OCTA's survey now!!

Freeway projects

• Modify on/off ramps on I-5 at 1st/4th st.
• Modify on/off ramps on SR-55 at MacArthur Blvd
• Build southbound-on and northbound-off HOV ramps at Bear St I-405.
• Extend HOV lanes on SR-55 from I-405 to 19th St
• Extend SR-55 through Costa Mesa to Industrial Way
• Build a new interchange at Meats Ave on SR-55
• Improve the SR-22/I-5/SR-57 "Orange Crush" interchange.
• Build connector ramps from SR-22 to the Pacific Electric Right-of-Way
  • Interesting transit note: These ramps are already part of Santa Ana's Go Local project, which would build off-ramps from SR-22 through Garden Grove to connect to Downtown Santa Ana. OCTA's representative emphasized that this project was very likely going to happen, and would prevent the Southern California Associated Government's (SCAG) Pacific Electric corridor project which could have extended Metro light rail to downtown Santa Ana.

Arterial projects

• Additional arterial & intersection optimization: 9 key corridors, 61 key intersections
• Improvements at or near freeway interchanges to improve efficiency including
  • Paularino Ave at SR-55
  • Baker St at SR-55
• Corridor feasibility studies on Beach Blvd and Harbor Blvd
• Grade separation at Harbor Blvd and Ball Road
  • Transit note: OCTA's project manager explained that this would be a pilot test to show Orange County that local arterial interchanges aren't bad. They didn't quite have any diagram to explain what kinds of bridges would be built nor were they very concrete as to how OCTA transit transfers would work.

Transit/Non-motorized projects

• New express bus routes on I-5 and SR-57
• Local "bus service improvements" on nine existing north/south routes
• Three additional "Bus Rapid Transit" routes on Beach Blvd, Katella Av, and Edinger Av
• Enhance BRT routes with implementation of bypass lanes at intersections, real-time passenger information, transit signal priority, and station improvements
  • Interesting note: OCTA's project manager said that bypass lanes would give a dedicated signal and lanes to buses at intersections for them to go ahead before general traffic could. She mentioned that nothing like this has been implemented in the United States. She did say that bus traffic signal pre-emption has been nixed because local cities control their traffic signals, and OCTA has no authority over these.
• Pedestrian/bicycle improvements that would be implemented with smart street, arterial synchronization, and BRT improvements
• Increase Park & Ride capacity and access and introduce new intermodal stations at key locations.

Some of the ideas that are no longer under consideration:

• No elevated freeways or transit on or under the Santa Ana River — OCTA's project manager mentioned the large amount of opposition that homeowners near the Santa Ana River had against any elevated structure due to visibility concerns.
• No more freeway widenings (beyond what is already planned under Measure M) — Again, a lot of homeowner and city opposition against taking property adjacent to freeways.
• Bus Rapid Transit with dedicated lanes — Not sure why this was axed, but OCTA's project manager emphasized that a lot of OCTA ideas are shot down by local cities, who control their arterials. This is a big reason why none of the traffic signals between cities are synchronized.