Irvine Survey OKs Tollways Plan by 80%

Irvine residents overwhelmingly support the planned San Joaquin Hills tollway and two other proposed county toll roads, according to preliminary results of a city survey tallied Friday.

The results show that more than 80% of those surveyed want Irvine to continue to participate in the planning of the San Joaquin Hills, Foothill and Eastern toll roads.

Irvine Mayor Larry Agran was pleased with the results, saying the survey gives Irvine additional clout to promote its scaled-back proposals for the toll roads. The plans voted on by Irvine residents include fewer traffic lanes than originally proposed, plus fixed-rail mass transit systems, “not the massive 1950s-style freeways” first put forth by toll-road planners, Agran said.

The results also appear to end the saga of a residents’ challenge to the city’s involvement in the roadways’ planning and financing. The Committee of Seven Thousand in 1985 collected 7,000 signatures for a “citizen’s-right-to-vote” initiative that would have required voter approval of city fees to help pay for the proposed San Joaquin Hills, Foothill and Eastern corridors.

The initiative was challenged in court by the Building Industry Assn. of Southern California and other business and transportation groups. The challenge ultimately was heard by the state Supreme Court, which ruled that the highway project was of statewide importance and thus not subject to local initiative.

That ruling led to the advisory survey, conducted in August. Although the results were not binding, Agran had said he planned to abide by the results, and the survey was conducted much like an election, but by mail.

The city clerk sent ballots to 56,400 registered voters, accompanied by a detailed pamphlet that outlined the corridor plans and included an argument in favor of the corridors, signed by the entire City Council. No one filed arguments opposing the corridors.

A spokeswoman for the city clerk said 12,852, or about 22%, returned the ballots, and all but 1,500 had been counted Friday afternoon. Final results will be announced Tuesday, but Friday’s tally showed that 10,309 residents, or 81.7%, favor the San Joaquin Hill toll road, compared to 2,085, or 18.3%, who oppose it.

On the issue of the city’s support of the agency planning the Eastern and Foothill tollways, 10,498 respondents--or 83.5%--were in favor, and 2,085--or 16.5%--voted no.

A spokesman for the Committee of Seven Thousand could not be reached Friday for comment.

The $560-million San Joaquin Hills Corridor would run from the Costa Mesa Freeway southeast to Interstate 5 near San Juan Capistrano.

The Foothill Corridor, estimated at $670 million, would run along the county’s eastern foothills and connect Rancho Santa Margarita with central Orange County. The proposed Eastern Corridor, at a cost of $840 million, would be an inland north-south toll road linking the Riverside Freeway with the Irvine area.

“I think it’s absolutely fantastic and terrific news to start the holiday on,” said Supervisor Thomas F. Riley, a proponent of the corridors. He said the survey results bode well for the county’s proposed half-cent sales tax hike, which will go before voters in November, because “this shows people are interested in solving the transportation problems.”

The survey results also were applauded by the director of the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which oversees the efforts for the three toll roads.

“We’re delighted,” said John Meyer, executive director. “We certainly have come a long way in accommodating the concerns of the city of Irvine.”

He said the “scaled-back” plan for the San Joaquin Hills toll road referred to by Mayor Agran is one of two configurations that will be studied in an environmental impact report. The original plan calls for four lanes in each direction, plus a car-pool lane, while the scaled-back plan calls for a total of five lanes, including one reverse-direction lane, plus facilities for mass transit.

The scaled-back plans came as a result of agreements between Irvine and Newport Beach, in the case of the San Joaquin Hills tollway, and with Orange and Tustin for the other corridors, Agran said.

Those plans include roadways that “can move people in greater numbers without necessarily degrading the environment,” he said.

Because those plans now have the endorsement of Irvine residents, Irvine city officials will have more clout in pressing for the adoption of the scaled-back configurations, he said.

“The plans now have enhanced credibility. With the voter ratification, we hope we will be able to prevail with our point of view. There are still some out there who want to pave over the county,” he said.

While the mood of Irvine residents was more opposed to the toll roads five years ago, when the petitioning group first formed, the increasing traffic in Irvine and the rest of Orange County since then has heightened residents’ awareness, said Meyer of the transportation corridor agencies.

“Citizens in Irvine are more cognizant of traffic problems now,” he said.