ORANGE COUNTY VOICES TRANSPORTATION : Traffic Corridors Meet Demands of Modern Era : Just as wartime gas rationing required adaptation, freeway congestion necessitates creative alternatives--such as toll roads.

Not very many people may remember the old Red Car trolley line. Or gas rationing during World War II.

But I remember those times. I was raised in the era of gas rationing, when people were forced to find alternative means of transportation to respond to the circumstances in which they lived.

I can remember when an A stamp got you only three gallons of gas--so it also gave you an incentive to get out of your car or find someone else with whom to ride. We changed our work schedules if we had to. We responded to the demands of the era.

In similar fashion, Orange County is responding to current traffic congestion by designing, financing and building nearly 68 miles of toll roads--the first in the state. These transportation corridors are part of today’s response to the demands of this era, and they are also part of a system that includes surface streets, freeways, buses, fixed rails, cycling and walking.

The corridors will provide tremendous relief to current traffic congestion in Orange County. In fact, more than 200,000 cars are initially projected to be on the corridors and off congested freeways and roads in 1995, when all three are open. Significant traffic improvement will be immediate.

But opening the corridors doesn’t mean they will be complete. They are being designed to grow with the times and changing needs.

Construction will be “phased”-- meaning that median improvements such as reversible lanes and fixed rail will be built as traffic demand warrants. Motorists and commuters in 2010 will find that the facilities anticipated and answered their needs too.

Recently, questions have arisen regarding the financial vitality of these leading-edge projects. Yes, they are challenging from a financing standpoint, as is every transportation project in Orange County right now. And the corridors are the only roads being built virtually without federal, state or local transportation funding.

But that has not rendered these projects infeasible. Quite the contrary. Through a unique combination of fees on new development and tax-free, toll-revenue municipal bonds, the financing for these three thoroughfares is innovative yet practical.

Currently, all costs for design, operation, administration and environmental documentation are being funded through development fees levied against builders. Our strategy is to delay issuance of bonds as long as possible in order to minimize interest costs. When projected cash flows deplete reserve development fees, as the corridor agencies anticipate they will, they will issue the bonds.

The question, then, becomes “How much new highway can be funded?” We are confident that traffic demands will be more than met by the initial phase of all three projects.

The philosophy of “phasing” is prudent. Using that approach, only the road capacity needed to meet current traffic loads is constructed.

For example, on the Foothill Corridor (which runs roughly parallel to Interstate 5, connecting with it at the San Diego-Orange County line), that may mean an opening-day configuration of four instead of eight general-purpose lanes.

Or, on opening day, the Eastern Corridor (running in two legs parallel to the Riverside and Costa Mesa freeways from Gypsum Canyon Road to the Santa Ana Freeway at the Laguna Freeway and Jamboree Road) could be six rather than eight lanes, two of which could be High Occupancy Vehicle lanes.

Other options will be chosen considering such factors as air-quality standards and traffic forecasting in addition to financing options.

The most advanced and efficient toll- collection technology will be used. The new computerized scanning equipment and electronically printed toll tags will enable motorists to enter and exit the corridors at freeway on-ramp and off-ramp speeds without stopping. The tolls will be used to repay the tax-exempt construction bonds.

Obviously, these innovations require thorough, complicated, meticulous environmental documentation to answer local concerns as well as meet state and federal regulations. Each corridor is currently in the midst of those processes.

The design of the corridors also conforms to the mandates of the new Air Quality Management Plan by increasing ridership and reducing auto emissions in the basin.

Since I became executive director of the Transportation Corridor Agencies six months ago, I’ve realized that I came to the agencies with some biases. Years ago, like every other kid, when I turned 16, I couldn’t wait to get my driver’s license. But during the war, even though I could legally drive, we simply didn’t have the gasoline.

Many of us became totally independent of driving. We learned to do what was necessary to transport ourselves. Today’s drivers are doing the same. The toll facilities will provide additional options-- and a means to do so.

Another bias I brought to this job was the belief that cooperation between the public and private sectors is essential. Having worked in both, I have seen that the energy, skills, sensitivities and financial resources of both sectors can be maximized when the relationship is not adversarial but cooperative.

We have been fortunate to have the benefit of a unique public/private partnership as these corridors have evolved, with the development community contributing part of the cost and the elected officials of 17 Orange County communities joining together on our boards of directors to help solve a regional problem.

I have seen a tremendous dedication to “making it happen.” Local, parochial interests are being integrated into a commitment to solving the transportation problems of the county as a whole. There is significant participation from a broad spectrum of groups.

The corridor agencies have a special relationship with Caltrans, enabling our two organizations to work closely together on a project of massive proportions. We’re actively involved with the Southern California Assn. of Governments, the Air Quality Management District, the Department of Fish and Game, and dozens of other agencies.

I also realize that we have a significant responsibility to succeed. These corridors are vital to Orange County’s future. But they are also a bellwether for the potential success of private toll roads in the state; a bellwether for future partnerships between the public and private sectors; and a bellwether for increased cooperation between local, state and federal transportation agencies.