Orange : Arterial Road Proposal Faces Heavy Opposition

A plan to construct a 1.6-mile highway from Imperial Highway in the Anaheim Hills to Loma Street in Orange will be considered tonight by the City Council, but a group of homeowners vowed to make a last-ditch stand against the proposal.

Planning Administrator John Lane said that because of current and predicted development in the area, the artery is needed to improve local traffic circulation and to improve access for emergency vehicles. Of six alternative courses mapped for the road, the Planning Commission selected a route that begins at the end of Loma Street and runs north before curving slightly to the west and then back eastward to meet the southern end of Imperial Highway.

Lane said the route would “move the road away from residences” and would not displace homes. It eventually would accommodate about 40,000 vehicles per day, he said.

About 3,000 homeowners who call their group ROAR (Residents Opposed to Arterial Roads) oppose the plan. ROAR attorney Marlene Fox said the new road would mean an increase in noise and traffic and a reduction in property values for her clients.

However, the city-prepared environmental impact report indicates that “improved local and regional access appreciates home values.” Noise levels could be significantly reduced by construction of barriers along the route, limits on construction times, and on speeds and types of trucks permitted to use the route, the report says.