Panel Lists 140 Projects to Speed Traffic : Tax, Fee Hikes Among Suggested Sources of Needed $1.1 Billion

Most of Orange County’s congestion on surface streets could be eliminated if improvements were made at about 140 specific locations, but the projects are $1.1 billion short of money, according to a report released Thursday by a countywide committee of councilmen and mayors.

The report, “Meeting the Challenge Head On,” recommends that a half-cent sales tax, greater use of developer fees, special benefit assessment districts and an increase in the state gasoline tax be considered as possible revenue sources.

Prepared by a so-called “super committee” of the Orange County chapter of the League of California Cities, the report states that “Orange County has 12,000 cars for every freeway mile, the highest ratio of any county in the state. . . . While our use of the system has increased, our investment in new roads has fallen seriously short.”

In addition to recommending that cities cooperate on projects that affect traffic congestion across each other’s borders, the report also urges the county to adopt a model trip-reduction program that would require major employers to reduce traffic through ride sharing, flexible work hours and other efforts.

Land-Use Decisions Cited

Also, the report urges cities to make land-use decisions consistent with transportation planning decisions.

By far the major portion of the committee’s work, however, involved the identification of about 140 specific improvements that, if financed, would allow the county’s street network to adequately serve current traffic levels.

Among the recommended projects:

- Turning Jamboree Road into a so-called “super street” and extending it from Irvine through Tustin.

- Widening Valley View Street, Beach and Harbor boulevards, Katella Avenue and Imperial Highway.

- Connecting 19th St. in Costa Mesa with Huntington Beach, across the Santa Ana River.

The $1-billion widening of the Santa Ana Freeway is the only top-priority freeway project listed in the report.

The League of Cities chapter is expected to approve the recommendations and send them to the Orange County Transportation Commission in November.

Santa Ana Mayor Dan Young, who chaired the committee that prepared the report, said he believes that the effort has already helped improve communication among the county’s 26 cities.

Irvine Councilman Ray Catalano, a slow-growth advocate, said he served on the committee partly to ensure that the recommendations do not emphasize gains that would be “immediately lost to new development.”

He said tying land-use decisions to transportation planning would help prevent such losses.