LAGUNA BEACH : Plan to Slow Traffic OKd Despite Dispute

A long-term transportation plan aimed at slowing traffic with speed bumps and discouraging wider roads was unanimously approved by the City Council on Thursday over the objections of the Chamber of Commerce and some residents.

The traffic blueprint, which now becomes part of the city’s General Plan, hinges on a policy statement that rejects traditional modes of transportation planning as counterproductive and environmentally harmful.

Councilman Neil G. Fitzpatrick likened Laguna’s philosophy to the voice in the movie “Field of Dreams,” which says, “If you build it, they will come.”

“I kind of feel that way about roads,” he said.

The blueprint says “innovative solutions” are needed to deal with Laguna traffic problems and suggests that driving speeds can be lowered in residential areas by narrowing street entrances and turning streets into cul-de-sacs.

The plan also encourages car-pooling and public transportation use and calls for exploring the idea of turning part of Forest Avenue in downtown Laguna into a no-cars pedestrian mall.

But some residents say the plan will cause bottlenecks and increase congestion.

“I think we have a natural traffic calming in Laguna,” resident Bobbi Cox said. “The traffic doesn’t move here.”

Becky Carey, Chamber of Commerce president, said her group opposes the plan because she said it will harm business and make traveling in the city more difficult.

“You have 20,000 cars registered in this town, that’s 1 1/2 cars per household. They have to use these roads.”

County officials have also warned that the blueprint is inconsistent with the county’s Master Plan of Arterial Highways.

It is nothing new for Laguna Beach to butt heads with the county over transportation. County plans call for Laguna Canyon Road to be widened and for Aliso Creek Road to cut through a greenbelt between El Toro and Laguna Canyon roads. The city rejects both proposals.

“We realize we will never be consistent with the Orange County Master Plan of Arterial Highways,” city planner Tamara Campbell said. “We’re not about to try to be consistent because we don’t want to include the San Joaquin Hills Corridor or the extension of Aliso Creek Road.”