SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Workshop to Study Funding for Road

Faced with a multimillion-dollar price tag to create a major road that would bypass congested intersections in the tourist-filled downtown area, city officials are holding a public workshop Wednesday to help them determine whether to pursue funding for the link.

The 7 p.m. workshop will be held in the La Sala Room of the San Juan Capistrano Library, 31495 El Camino Real.

The extension of Alipaz Street north from Del Obispo Street to Junipero Serra Road has been in the city general plan--a blueprint for development--since its creation in 1974. For years, the street has merely been a dotted line on the map, meandering alongside Trabuco Creek, one of the city’s three major waterways.

Because of flood-protection requirements and the cost of building bridges over the creek, the project could cost close to $30 million, said William D. Murphy, director of public works.

“Where does a community like ours get $30 million?” Murphy asked. “I’m making it a point that there may be no decision made. We may just leave it alone and not build in the creek bed. This is a major community decision.”

Concerns have been raised by local residents over destroying the natural, tree-lined setting of the Trabuco Creek bed, which is a popular spot for bird-watching, riding horses and hiking.

Despite those worries, the city Traffic and Transportation Commission voted unanimously this week to approve the Alipaz Street extension route, saying they hoped construction could begin sooner than a projected 1994 starting date.

“We really want to see this thing go,” said Commissioner Frank M. Rosenberger. “We need it to relieve traffic in the downtown.”

Rosenberger said a southern extension of Alipaz Street, from Camino Del Avion to Stonehill Drive, should also be discussed as a way to relieve traffic on Del Obispo Street between San Juan Capistrano and Dana Point. Right of ways for this portion of the road were created by county officials in the 1960s, when the now-defunct “Coast Freeway” along Coast Highway would have taken a large part of Del Obispo Street in Dana Point.

Murphy said the desire by city officials to avoid smooth, concrete-lined creek channels, like the one built in 1948 to connect Trabuco Creek with San Juan Creek, could prevent financial assistance for improvements from the Orange County Flood Control District. The district doles out federal and state funds to the cities.

“If we ask for a grass-lined channel with some rocks in it, we’re in trouble,” Murphy said. “The county won’t support anything that looks nice because it costs them too much.”