What About Tomorrowland’s Traffic? : Disney’s transportation plans must consider more than tourists’ convenience

The public must wait until next month to find out more about Walt Disney Co.’s anticipated plans for a second theme park in Anaheim. But Orange County officials who have talked with Disney are not waiting to figure out how millions of new visitors will get around. They’re already looking for ways to integrate transportation improvements Disney has in mind with the needs of the city and region--and well they should.

Some of the futuristic transportation plans reportedly on the Disney drawing boards include an expansion of the existing monorail system to serve new hotel properties, freeway ramps from car-pool lanes, pedestrian bridges with moving sidewalks and more. Disney understandably is envisioning improvements that will bring it new business. But the public has a stake in thoughtful and inclusive transportation planning, Tinkerbell’s magic notwithstanding.

Disney, for example, reportedly wants its monorail system extension to omit stops at others’ hotels. But the monorail at least should link up with Anaheim’s own proposed people-mover system. That, at least, would connect Disney’s transportation system with Anaheim Stadium, a planned sports arena, the convention center, and a regional transit center to provide access to Amtrak, commuter trains and, if built, a high-speed Anaheim-Las Vegas train.

Disney apparently expects customers to arrive by car, not by train. But it must recognize that visitors will not come and go in a transportation vacuum, and the many new visitors will place increased demands on existing highway arteries.

The freeway “direct-connect” ramps are an expensive proposition, and both the Orange County Transportation Commission and Caltrans say they don’t have the millions needed to build them. The idea is a good one, however, and has precedent on the Hollywood Freeway, where MCA Inc. paid to build ramps to ferry traffic in and out of the Universal Studios Tour area. But Disney’s idea of building only off-ramps from planned car-pool lanes on the Santa Ana Freeway won’t be much help in getting people home. And they will have to do that sooner or later, even if Mickey and Donald are disappointed to see their friends leave.

By working with city, county and state officials on traffic, the entertainment giant that gave us Tomorrowland has an opportunity to show some vision in real-world planning.