LAGUNA BEACH : City to Seek Ways to Ease Canyon Traffic

The city will attempt to smooth rush-hour traffic in the canyon by exploring ways to unsnarl a traffic knot that forms regularly at Laguna Canyon and El Toro roads.

The City Council voted 4 to 0 this week to direct the city manager to look for solutions to the traffic tie-up, which occurs when too many motorists on Laguna Canyon Road attempt to turn left onto El Toro Road.

The junction is increasingly favored by drivers seeking to avoid an even bigger traffic tie-up at the El Toro Y, where the San Diego and Santa Ana freeways meet.

The traffic problem is worsened by a large number of United Parcel Service vans that use El Toro Road in traveling to and from their distribution center, city officials said. City Manager Kenneth C. Frank said he would ask UPS officials to keep the trucks off the road during rush hour.

Some road improvement projects already planned by the California Department of Transportation could help solve the problem, Frank said Wednesday. Options to ease the problem include extending a left turn pocket at the junction and creating a right-turn-only lane on Laguna Canyon Road for motorists turning onto El Toro Road, Frank said. The intersection might have to be widened slightly to accommodate these improvements, he said.