City looks to alleviate Harbor traffic congestion

Deirdre Newman

The city is proposing a host of improvements to alleviate traffic

congestion on Harbor Boulevard between Gisler and Sunflower avenues,

where as many as 3,000 cars cruised each hour in each direction in

2003.

One improvement would focus on the northbound San Diego Freeway

interchange off northbound Harbor Boulevard. The others would target

the street itself: adding a fourth northbound lane between South

Coast Drive and Sunflower Avenue; re-striping the southbound portion

between South Coast Drive and the southbound freeway on-ramp to

provide four lanes; and creating a bus turnout on southbound Harbor

Boulevard, just north of South Coast Drive.

The $4.2 million worth of improvements would be made without

dipping into the city’s general fund, Transportation Services manager

Peter Naghavi said. Two funding sources will pay for it: $1.5 million

from the development agreement with C.J. Segerstrom & Sons for the

Home Ranch project; the mixed-use development including IKEA at the

former Segerstrom lima bean farm between Fairview Road and Harbor

Boulevard; and $2.7 million from a Measure M grant. Measure M is the

half-cent sales tax to fund transportation improvements in Orange

County passed by voters in 1990.

The upgrades would be done at the same time to decrease

inconvenience to drivers, Naghavi said. An open house on the project

tonight will give residents a chance to ask questions and give

feedback. The project is set to come before the council in February,

and if all goes well, construction could start in about a year to a

year and a half, Naghavi added.

Improvement of the northbound freeway interchange involves

removing an embankment under the freeway and replacing it with a

concrete wall. A new, exclusive lane will provide direct access from

northbound Harbor Boulevard to the northbound San Diego Freeway.

“If you notice, as you’re moving northbound on Harbor, there is

congestion because some people go to the northbound San Diego

Freeway, and some go to the southbound San Diego Freeway,” Naghavi

said. “And the lane to the northbound San Diego Freeway is extremely

short and shared with through traffic, so this gives them their own

lane.”

Improvements to Harbor Boulevard are designed to make the street

capable of accommodating traffic anticipated from future development,

Naghavi said. In 2026, traffic volume at peak hours in the afternoon

on northbound Harbor Boulevard approaching South Coast Drive is

expected to be as high as 3,700 cars per hour.

Some improvements would require approval from Caltrans, as they

will be done within existing Caltrans rights of way. Caltrans is

studying the city’s proposal but doesn’t see any problems with the

project, spokeswoman Pam Gorniak said.

“It’s a positive for the city and for us,” Gorniak said.

The proposed Harbor Boulevard improvements dovetail nicely with

the city’s traffic-improving mission, Mayor Gary Monahan said.

“As part of our committed effort to moving traffic flow and

avoiding gridlock within Costa Mesa, we worked very well with the

Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans on some major

projects,” Monahan said. “This would fall right in line with the

overall picture of alleviating the traffic congestion in Costa Mesa.”