Santa Ana Traffic Plan Opponents File Lawsuit

A battle over Santa Ana’s new traffic plan moved out of the streets and into the courtroom Tuesday as opponents of the North-Central Santa Ana Traffic Plan filed a suit seeking to rescind it.

In their suit, members of Concerned Residents of Santa Ana ask the court to “restore the streets of the city of Santa Ana to their pre-April 15, 1985, condition.”

The North-Central Santa Ana Traffic Plan, implemented on a trial basis in April, is designed to prevent commuters from using the neighborhood located north of 17th Street between Bristol Street and the Santa Ana Freeway.

The plan includes a “no right turn” from Memory Lane to Flower Street from 6 to 9 a.m. on weekdays, an ongoing effort to have Caltrans close the Flower Street off-ramp from the Orange Freeway, and stop signs and traffic diverters.

Tickets Sparked Anger

Much of the anger over the plan came in response to $52 tickets issued by police officers stationed at the Flower-Memory intersection each weekday morning.

Concerned Residents of Santa Ana, formed in opposition, collected about 3,000 signatures and protested to the City Council. The group argued that the plan would deposit traffic onto surrounding streets. The council approved the plan in September.

The suit cites a state Supreme Court decision, which in part stated that use of a street is “not a mere privilege, but a common and fundamental right, of which the public and individuals cannot rightfully be deprived.”

The suit argues that “people have been exiting on Flower Street for 15 to 20 years and they have been driving down Flower Street as a commuter zone into the Civic Center. The City of Santa Ana . . . has acted for the sole purpose of protecting the property owners along the street.”

Attorney Milo F. De Armey, representing the residents’ group, said the city has exceeded its power. “The law is pretty clear that the city cannot do what they’re doing,” he said.

City Atty. Edward Cooper said Santa Ana can take any action regarding its streets, including outright closure, as long as no state vehicle codes are violated.

A hearing on the suit has been set for Nov. 19.

George Hanna, a spokesman for the residents’ group, said people who work in downtown Santa Ana and usually travel south on Flower Street now face traffic jams on their only alternatives: Bristol Street or Broadway. “Let people flow through the area,” he said. “I want people to share the traffic.”

Preserve Neighborhood

Residents who packed City Council meetings in support of the plan said it would “preserve the residential character of the neighborhood.” They also said the plan is even more necessary to avoid traffic that would be generated by ambitious redevelopment plans downtown, including the $35-million Westdome Arena and $85-million Centerpointe office-hotel complex.

City Manager Robert C. Bobb, who was out of town Tuesday, said when the plan was approved that other neighborhoods also would be studied for possible traffic plans. He also noted that a similar plan was introduced in a northeastern neighborhood in 1982.