YORBA LINDA : City Balks at Joining Super-Street Plan

Responding to requests from a crowd of more than 200 residents, the City Council voted not to endorse plans to turn Imperial Highway into a super-street.

After a heated public hearing on Wednesday, the council voted to take no position on the project, making Yorba Linda the only one of the six cities along the route of the $23-million project not to endorse it.

The project would have widened parts of Imperial Highway in Yorba Linda to six lanes, with long-term plans calling for widening it to eight lanes between Rose Drive and Lemon Avenue.

The council voted to draft a resolution opposing any expansion of the highway to eight lanes.

Most residents in the crowd complained that these changes would attract more traffic into the city.

Anaheim, Brea, Fullerton, La Habra and Placentia have all supported the expansions. Without Yorba Linda’s endorsement, the Orange County Transportation Commission will not proceed with the project, said Arya Rohani, the panel’s spokesman.

The other five cities can then decide whether they want to change the road on their own, or the commission might consider a smaller project that does not go through Yorba Linda, Rohani said.

Rohani said he is puzzled by the city’s refusal to endorse the project, even though the improvements would be consistent with the city’s General Plan.

“The bottom line is, it will reduce traffic congestion and reduce delays and, as a result, will improve air quality. It will benefit all of the cities,” Rohani said.

But residents do not agree.

“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the reason the other cities approved this is because it goes through their commercial corridors,” resident William Davis said. “In Yorba Linda, it cuts right through the heart of the city. It will have a very dramatic impact to the people of Yorba Linda, and it offers no benefit to the people who live there.”

Councilman Henry W. Wedaa, the only member of the council to oppose the plan outright, said: “If we widen Imperial Highway, people will come in droves.”

But Councilman John M. Gullixson said he refused to vote against the proposal because voters complained about traffic while he was campaigning for office.

Councilman Gene Wisner said he supports the super-street concept but abstained because he has applied for a seat on the County Transportation Commission.

That panel will review the council’s resolution once it is officially passed, then decide its next move, Rohani said.