Measure V at the crossroads -- literally

Measure V, which updates the city’s general plan, is one of three local measures that will appear on the Nov. 7 ballot in Newport Beach. But it arguably could have a bigger effect on the city’s future than anything else on the ballot — with the exception of Measure X, which requires public votes on some developments.

If Measure V is passed, it will guide development in the city for the next 20 years.

This is the third in a series of stories discussing major aspects of the general plan update and how it will affect the city.

Traffic is one of the main complaints City Council members hear from residents, so one of Measure V’s selling points for proponents is that it will fix clogged intersections over the long term.

Much has been made of the projected number of car trips per day under the existing general plan versus the new plan, but the performance of streets and intersections probably means more to residents, said City Councilman Steve Rosansky, a Measure V supporter.

“The trips really are meaningless. It’s how fast can I get from point A to point B,” he said.

The city grades intersections with letters — A through F — for how quickly traffic moves through them. Assistant City Manager Sharon Wood said A intersections are “absolutely free-flowing,” while at level D a driver might have to wait two light cycles to get through the intersection, but not all the time.

“When you’re at F, you might be looking at the third green” before getting through the intersection, she said.

If everything allowed by the existing general plan were built, city officials say, at least 18 major intersections would perform at one of the two worst service levels.

Under the new plan, only two intersections would be at levels E or F. Those two are on East Coast Highway in Corona del Mar, where residents have said they don’t want the streets widened, Wood said.

Measure V achieves these improvements mainly by adding new turn lanes and in some cases driving lanes.

The work would be at least partly paid for by traffic-impact fees charged to developers.

Major improvements in the plan include new turn lanes at Campus Drive and MacArthur Boulevard, two turn lanes at Newport Boulevard and 32nd Street, and turn and through lanes at Jamboree Road at the Campus Drive and Birch Street intersections.

It’s worth noting that the old and new general plans are projections of what might be built, so if the building never happens the traffic presumably wouldn’t come either.

Rosansky said the way the new general plan distributes different kinds of development around the city also will help traffic to flow more smoothly.

Greenlight residents group leader Phil Arst, Measure V’s most outspoken opponent, argued that the city doesn’t now have the money for the intersection improvements, so they’re really just on paper.

A previous city survey of residents showed most opposed widening streets and intersections to accommodate growth, Arst said.

“The prevalent view that we get from people is if you enlarge it they’ll just put more traffic on it,” he said. “Stop the creation of traffic and you’re better off — that’s our philosophy.”

But Rosansky and Wood said there’s no way to completely stop the generation of new traffic, because some of it inevitably comes from outside the city.

“Even if we did nothing, we’re going to have increases in traffic because of what’s going on around us,” Wood said.

Rosansky noted that six intersections already are at the two worst service levels.

“The bottom line is if we leave the existing general plan, we’re going to have 18 intersections” at those levels, he said.