SOUNDING OFF:Working to keep traffic moving

In combination with my responsibilities on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, I am also a director for the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and chairwoman of the South Orange County Major Investment Study that is identifying solutions to the traffic headaches that plague our area of the county.

Over the course of the last several weeks — following the tragic accident that took the lives of the Coble children — I have held extensive meetings with transportation and other governmental stakeholders to identify ways to expedite congestion relief projects that have been on the books, but moving slowly due to technical construction issues and lack of adequate funding.

With the help of state transportation leaders including Marian Bergeson, chair of the California Transportation Commission; Will Kempton, state director of Caltrans; and Cindy Quon, Caltrans director District 12, I have been given a preliminary commitment that chokepoint improvement projects will be accelerated at both the Crown Valley and Oso Parkway interchanges with the I-5 Freeway by approving funding advances and accelerating design and construction processes.

There are not many easy fixes in a given area, and in a number of cases the cost share, planning and actual construction also involves oversight by the County of Orange, OCTA and Caltrans.

With regard to collaboration and communication among agencies involved, I have been working with the assistance of OCTA staff and recently convened a special meeting with Public Works Department officials from each city in the Fifth District.

The goal of this meeting was to discuss and compile an index of all current South Orange County traffic relief projects so we can begin a strong advocacy effort to ensure these regional projects get the funding needed to move them off the books and on the roads.

Finally, it recently came to my attention that there was a concern that the California Highway Patrol office in San Juan Capistrano would close. This would effectively leave South Orange County woefully understaffed with officers to enforce traffic safety in the Fifth District and particularly in our unincorporated areas.

I am happy to report that after meeting with the CHP, there is no such plan to close the office. Going forward, I am committed to working with the Governor’s office and our Orange County legislators to ensure that the San Juan Capistrano CHP office retains adequate staff to serve our growing population.

I will continue working with transportation leaders on these critical issues and will keep you updated on the process we must support for ensuring more timely solutions to our traffic safety and congestion problems in South Orange County.