$339 Million in Road Improvements : Panel OKs Santa Clarita Traffic Study

A transportation study recommending $339 million in road improvements for the Santa Clarita Valley--including some tough ordinances to encourage car pooling and bus riding--was approved by a citizens’ advisory committee Monday.

The study by the Southern California Assn. of Governments will be sent to Santa Clarita City Council members and Los Angeles County officials who will decide which of the scores of recommendations to pursue.

Bijan Yarjani, who oversaw the project for the association, said the study offers Santa Clarita and county planners a “menu” of possible solutions to traffic congestion in the fast-growing valley. The study grimly predicted that, by the year 2010, traffic in the valley would worsen, even if all of the suggested construction projects, from enlarged off-ramps to widened roads, are built.

Santa Clarita Mayor Howard P. (Buck) McKeon, who co-chaired the citizens’ advisory committee, said the council will consider the recommendations in January. He said the council has waited for the study, started 14 months ago, to be completed before launching major road projects or adopting transportation policies.

The study’s recommendations are not binding and were approved by a 9-5 vote after lengthy debate by the advisory committee, made up of Santa Clarita officials, business leaders and representatives from Los Angeles County and the state Department of Transportation. Some committee members said they disagreed with some recommendations or questioned the study’s data.

Gloria Casvin, a vice president with Newhall Land & Farming, concurred with most of the study’s conclusions but said some suggested ordinances designed to encourage bus riding and car pooling--such as limiting employee parking--are too stringent.

Casvin asked the committee to wait 2 weeks to let Newhall Land review the recommendations further and to include any future remarks by the company in the text. Instead, the committee agreed to let Casvin and other committee members comment on the recommendations in an addendum.

The committee also held off approving recently added portions of the report dealing with California 126 to let county and state transportation planners review data. Those portions will be considered later.

The study, released last week, estimates that the road construction projects needed in the Santa Clarita Valley before 1995 will cost $115 million. An extra $224 million will be needed for transportation projects planned through 2010.

It is uncertain how the improvements would be paid for, but the study lists a variety of potential sources--from state and federal programs to assessment districts and city government.