MISSION VIEJO : Foothill Tollway on Council Agenda

Controversies surrounding the planned route of the Foothill tollway will be discussed by the City Council tonight for the first time with newly elected members present.

The council meeting will immediately follow a 7:30 p.m. swearing-in ceremony to be conducted by Rep. Ron Packard (R-Carlsbad) at the Oso Viejo Community Center, 24932 Oso Viejo Road.

New members elected to the council Nov. 6 include Sharon Cody, Robert D. Breton and Susan Withrow.

The planned Foothill Transportation Corridor will parallel the Santa Ana Mountains from the Riverside Freeway to San Clemente.

Critics argue that it will worsen traffic on Crown Valley Parkway, said Councilwoman-elect Cody.

Cody said an environmental report for potential corridor alignments uses outdated traffic statistics for the busy, six-lane thoroughfare.

The corridor project will link Marguerite Parkway in Mission Viejo with Interstate 5 and will go to central Laguna Niguel and Coast Highway in northern Dana Point.

If reconstruction is required for Crown Valley Parkway to accommodate the planned tollway, the city could be eligible for outside funding assistance, Cody said.

Under state environmental rules, Mission Viejo’s concerns must be answered by transportation corridor officials.

Before the swearing-in ceremony, a reception for new council members is scheduled at 5:30 p.m., also at the Oso Viejo Community Center.