Santa Ana Traffic Plan and the Plight of the Commuter

Both the Santa Ana city officials who passed and enforce the North Central Santa Ana Neighborhood Traffic Protection Plan and the residents who initiated the traffic plan are totally disregarding the plight of the commuter. The residents’ basic premise is purely a selfish one. Not all can afford to live close to work. One basic principle of geometry is that “the shortest distance between two given points is a straight line.” Flower Street is that “shortest distance,” time-wise, for commuters who work in the Civic Center Plaza area.

Future measures of the plan call for the closure of the Flower Street off-ramp from I-5 and permanent barriers to northbound traffic at the intersections of Ross and 17th and Flower and 17th streets. Closure of the off-ramp throws vehicles back onto heavily congested I-5, where it bottlenecks with the 57 Freeway, a 10- to 15-minute increase in traveling time to reach one’s destination. The permanent barriers create the rerouting of vehicles to other residential streets or congested arterials. This added travel time with additional traffic signals (vehicles idling at red lights) releases an increased number of smog particles into the air.

It is understandable that the city is attempting to preserve the character and identity of its residential areas, but before rerouting traffic to already heavily congested arterials, the city should take measures to widen them (i.e., Bristol Street between Memory Lane and Civic Center Drive).

The North Central Santa Ana Neighborhood Traffic Protection Plan has not met with positive reaction from other Santa Ana residents and non-resident commuters. In fact, it has had a negative public relations effect.

MICHAEL CHIARAMONTE

Corona