Residents Want New Freeways, but Not the Taxes, Survey Shows

Central Orange County residents lead the rest of the county in favoring new freeways to relieve congestion, but they are less willing to pay more taxes for them and show less interest in bus ramps and car-pool lanes, according to a survey conducted for the Orange County Transportation Commission.

The results, released Thursday at a forum held at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana, showed that central county residents agree strongly with other county residents that traffic problems can be solved by redistributing existing tax revenues.

“I don’t believe there is enough money,” said Tustin Mayor Richard B. Edgar, an OCTC and Orange County Transit District board member. Edgar told the 150 people at the forum, sponsored by the commission, that they should advise elected officials about the “most palatable ways to raise the money we need.”

On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 signifying “greatest need,” the idea of adding general traffic lanes on freeways scored 7.51 among central county respondents, compared to 7.49 countywide, according to the commission’s public opinion poll.

The telephone survey of 400 people was conducted by the Research Network Ltd. of Laguna Hills. Central Orange County was defined as Costa Mesa, Santa Ana, Tustin, Orange and Villa Park.

Car Pools at Bottom of List

At the bottom of the list was adding car-pool lanes, which scored 5.7 in central Orange County but 5.94 countywide.

More than 64% of the central Orange County respondents said they would solve the traffic problem by redistributing available tax resources, compared to 59% countywide. Only 36% said they would seek voter approval of a tax increase, compared to 41% countywide.

However, support for redistribution dropped dramatically when people were told redistribution of tax revenues might mean spending cuts for education, police and fire services.

About 6% of the central Orange County respondents believe traffic is worse in Orange County than in Los Angeles, compared to 8% countywide. About 45% in the central region said traffic is about the same, compared to 43% countywide. About 49% of the central Orange County respondents said Orange County traffic is not as bad, compared to 48% countywide.

The survey also showed that 50% of the central county respondents believe that congestion is caused by “too many people, too much growth and development,” compared to 56% countywide.

Inadequate Roads

About 36% believe that traffic problems are caused by inadequate roads and freeways, compared to 31% countywide. Only 15% said they believe that there are too many cars with one person in them, compared to 20% in the countywide sample. Fewer respondents agreed with other choices, such as the statement that traffic congestion is caused by people living too far from work.

An equal number of respondents both in central Orange County and countywide believe that car-pool lanes are an “excellent idea.” But 27% of the central county respondents rated the lanes a “poor idea,” compared to 22% countywide.

During the forum, Santa Ana Councilman Dan Griset said growth limitation measures would not solve transportation problems. Such measures, he said, “won’t stop growth, just as Prohibition didn’t stop drinking.”

Griset and other officials attending the forum said widening city surface streets and regional coordination are needed to cope with traffic caused by each new, major commercial or residential development.