‘Super-Street’ Gets a Boost : Chamber of Commerce Backs S. County Route

The South Orange County Chamber of Commerce is putting its political muscle behind a proposal to make Moulton Parkway and Street of the Golden Lantern into the South County’s first “super-street.”

Super-streets are single highways or a series of connected roads where traffic is engineered to move with a minimum of stops and delays.

“The chamber is very excited about this,” said Elaine Carter of Cota de Caza, chairwoman-elect of the chamber. “One of the largest problems in South Orange County is lack of alternate roads to travel within one’s own community or throughout South County. People have to use the freeway as a local street.”

Seeks Increase in Sales Tax

The chamber lobbied successfully earlier this summer to win designation of Golden Lantern as a super-street. Now the chamber is working to get passage of a proposed sales tax increase this November to fund the improvement.

The Orange County Transportation Commission, which selects such massive improvements, defines a super-street as one that is overhauled to allow optimum, efficient travel.

The commission named Beach Boulevard in December, 1985, as its first super-street project. The improvements, which call for coordinated signal lights and better turn areas at intersections, are still under way on Beach Boulevard.

Chose Three Roads

About a month ago, the commission picked three more roads, or combinations of roads, to be made into new super-streets. Two would be in the North County--the improvement of Katella Avenue and Imperial Highway.

The third would start in the South County and would ultimately extend to Seal Beach. It would start at the Street of the Golden Lantern at Coast Highway in Dana Point and continue to where that street merges into Moulton Parkway at Crown Valley Parkway.

Moulton Parkway would then be improved--including being widened to six lanes--from Crown Valley Parkway to its juncture with Irvine Center Drive.

According to Mark Goodman, transportation aide for Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairman Thomas F. Riley, the plan ultimately calls for Irvine and other cities to join in extending the super-street. Goodman said Irvine Center Drive, under the super-street proposal, would be expanded. “Then it would connect back with Moulton Parkway for a bit and then connect with Edinger Avenue, where it would extend all the way to Seal Beach,” Goodman said.

Riley is both chairman of the county supervisors and chairman of the County Transportation Commission--an independent body that allocates all federal and state highway funds to local governments. Riley’s 5th Supervisorial District embraces the Laguna Hills-Laguna Niguel-Dana Point area. Street of the Golden Lantern and Moulton Parkway cross those growing South County communities, Goodman said.

“Chairman Riley is the No. 1 proponent of this super-street for South Orange County,” Goodman said. “The only glitch is funding. The money will depend on whether the half-cent sales tax increase for transportation is approved on the November ballot.”

Supports Tax Increase

Carter, of the South Orange County Chamber of Commerce, said the chamber is strongly backing passage of the proposed tax increase for transportation. She noted that the chamber had also pushed for designation of Street of the Golden Lantern/Moulton Parkway into super-street status before the Transportation Commission’s action last month.

Goodman said the Transportation Commission, in picking three new proposed super-streets, “did not prioritize them.” He said that if the tax increase passes in November, there would be sufficient money to launch work on all three new super-streets.

“But some work is already under way in South County because the county is undertaking some of the improvements,” Goodman said. “Essentially Golden Lantern is already a super-street because it is new and was built to super-street standards. But Moulton Parkway will need improvements.”

Goodman said the South County portion of the super-street would most likely be completed within the next three years, if the sales tax increase passes. He said it will probably take longer for improvements on Irvine Center Drive and Edinger Avenue “because in those areas, there are city governments that must push the projects.”

By contrast, he noted, the Golden Lantern-Moulton Parkway segment in South County “only involves the city of Dana Point and Chairman Riley’s 5th Supervisorial District.”

Riley Visits Groups

Goodman said that Riley visits constituent groups, including Leisure World, to reassure them that a super-street would be helpful, not harmful. “Some in Leisure World worried that a super-street would limit their access to local streets, and that’s just not true,” Goodman said. “A super-street keeps traffic flowing at a good pace and keeps cars at intersections from spewing out pollution.”

South Orange County Chamber of Commerce officials, including Carter, said a super-street would mean many benefits for South County residents.

“Among super-street techniques are signal coordination, additional lanes, removal of street parking, expanded intersection turn pockets, bus turnouts and driveway consolidation,” said Wendy Harle, the chamber’s director of public relations.

Carter added: “In the past, most of the attention (for major highway improvements) has focused on central and North Orange County. Now, with the big growth in business as well as number of homes in South Orange County, we think this (super-street) program is required. We’ve waited a long time, and, yes, now we think it’s our time.”