COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:

Former Costa Mesa Parks and Recreation Commissioner Byron De Arakal wrote an article (“Traffic plan could backfire,” June 25) about a bill I introduced to relieve traffic on the 55 Freeway.

His commentary misses the unique benefits of Assembly Bill 2906, the Orange County Traffic Relief Act of 2008, and instead focuses on the congestion point where the 55 Freeway ends.

It is important to remember that each of these improvements is another piece to our traffic relief puzzle.

AB 2906 allows the unique opportunity of adding a lane to an existing freeway with no new construction.

Think about that — no land to purchase, no environmental mitigation, no construction delays. Most importantly, this will be done with out the multimillion dollar price tag we’re accustomed to for freeway expansion.

Since first elected to the Assembly in 2004 I have made traffic relief a priority.

In fact, I was proud to have earned an award from OCTA during my first year in office for passing legislation to cut redundant bureaucracy from the approval process for freeway construction.

Since then I’ve worked to streamline the improvements to the 22 Freeway, lobbied for the completion of the 241 toll road extension, supported 1B and co-chaired the local Measure M renewal.

All of these projects are part of our overall effort to keep working on transportation solutions until we can get to work and get home within a reasonable time.

But the job doesn’t stop here. We need to keep working on delivering infrastructure and make it a priority for our state government.

As I talk to moms and dads around my district, the one thing they want more of is time. Imagine all the time you could spend at home or at work if it wasn’t for gridlock. Quickly adding a lane to the 55 Freeway will reduce the real time we spend idling in our cars and give that back to families. And improvements planned in Measure M will continue the progress we need.

This is necessary for all of those Orange County residents who spend more time reading bumper stickers on the freeway than at home reading to their kids.

As de Arakal points out, the work isn’t done.

While expanding the 55 is very important, it does present new challenges for the Newport-Mesa community.

I want to assure readers that I will continue work with local governments and the community to solve these traffic problems.

We need to provide better roads NOW! The Orange County Traffic Relief Act of 2008 is a step in the right direction.

VAN TRAN is an Assemblyman representing the 68th District.