OCTA proposal would add buses in Costa Mesa

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- A possible cross-county bus system -- touted by local

transportation authorities to save time for bus riders -- could result in

more traffic for residents, city traffic officials said Monday.

Officials from the Orange County Transportation Authority hope to

implement a cross-county rapid bus system that would run along Harbor

Boulevard from Brea to Newport Beach, passing through Fullerton, Anaheim,

Garden Grove, Santa Ana, Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa. The $11-million

proposed system would skip some of the existing stops along Harbor

Boulevard and trigger green lights to make the inner-county bus ride at

least 14 minutes faster, said transportation authority spokesman George

Urch.

Implementation of the system requires a favorable vote from the Costa

Mesa City Council, and city transportation experts said they are not sure

whether they will recommend approval.

Peter Naghavi, the city’s Manager of Transportation Services, said the

system is a good idea but he is not convinced of its practicality.

Naghavi said he is concerned the signal-triggering feature of the system

will cause traffic to back up at other Costa Mesa intersections.

Busy intersections throughout the city are coordinated to provide

efficient traffic flow, he said. If a bus triggers the light for its own

needs, it could throw off other signals and result in traffic jams along

streets that run perpendicular to Harbor. Once the system is thrown off,

it takes a few cycles to get back on track, Naghavi said.

“The idea is a good idea but it has to be practical,” Naghavi said.

“If it does not hurt our traffic flow integrity, then we will support it.

If it is done at the expense of congestion to other traffic, then it is

not a good thing.”

Naghavi said he will wait and see the result of further studies and

assessments before he makes any kind of recommendation.

“The idea is a good idea; it just has to be practical,” he said.

The bus route along Harbor is particularly slow because of traffic and

the large number of bus riders, Urch said, and was therefore chosen for

the proposed rapid bus system. About 30 rapid system buses would run in

addition to the existing OCTA buses on Harbor and arrive every 10 to 12

minutes at shelters about a mile a part.

Given favorable votes in all cities, the system could start as early

as summer of next year, Urch said.

The issue has not yet been scheduled for a City Council meeting.

Naghavi said the system is still very preliminary and will not come

before the council for months, if not longer.