SANTA ANA : Council OKs Plan to Divert Traffic

The City Council has unanimously approved a plan that will divert Santa Ana Freeway detour traffic from entering the Floral Park neighborhood at Santa Clara Avenue.

Proposed by Councilwoman Lisa Mills, the plan is intended to alleviate an expected surge in commuter traffic through the neighborhood when the Main Street bridge is closed July 1. The closure is expected to last about two years, according to a staff report to the board.

Under the plan, physical barriers will be installed at two intersections. Those barriers will prohibit traffic on Broadway from traveling west onto Santa Clara Avenue, and eastbound traffic on 19th Street from turning onto Broadway. Also, both Santa Clara and Buffalo avenues between Main Street and Broadway will become one-way streets. Santa Clara Avenue will permit only westbound traffic and Buffalo Avenue will permit only eastbound traffic. A new signal will be installed at the intersection of Broadway and Buffalo Avenue.

The effect would be to decrease commuter traffic on Santa Clara Avenue, Traffic Engineer T. C. Sutaria said before the meeting.

About three dozen residents spoke before the council on Monday, most urging approval of the plan. About 10 people voiced strong objections, however, saying it is unfair to people who live outside the neighborhood, and could potentially slow ambulances getting to a local hospital.

“I am a taxpayer here and I believe that any taxpayer has a right to drive on any street in the city,” James Lukens, who doesn’t live in the Floral Park neighborhood, told the board.

The council approved the plan unanimously, as well as a proposal by Miguel A. Pulido Jr. that the council consider mitigation measures on streets where traffic increases by 15% after July 1.

Jim Ross, director of public works, said that the California Department of Transportation would cover most, if not all, of the project’s $20,000 cost.

In 1991, the Floral Park Neighborhood Assn. had also sought to restrict traffic on streets in the area, but that bitterly fought attempt failed in January, 1992, when voters in the affected area rejected its main provisions.

Residents from other neighborhoods blasted the plan as elitist and designed to prop up property values at the expense of others. This time, however, proponents pointed to other street closings due to work on the Santa Ana Freeway and said they had already caused increased commuter traffic on residential streets, causing a safety hazard, especially for children.

Floral Park residents also emphasized that the traffic diversions bear little resemblance to the earlier proposal, and would be temporary.

“We’re not elitist, we’re not snobs,” said Towner Street resident Phil Shaeffer. “We’ve been overrun for two years from commuters and we’ve been sick of it. Commuters are the problem, not neighbors. We don’t want them racing down our streets at 50 m.p.h.”

He said that now, the problem would be greatly decreased. “This is a huge victory. I’m very excited about it.”

The council also approved as part of its routine consent calendar a second plan that regulates traffic in the city’s northeast neighborhood. To restrict shortcut-seeking commuters when the Main Street bridge closes, the city will install a temporary barrier at Edgewood Road and Bush Street.

Eastbound traffic on Edgewood will be unable to reach Bush Street. Westbound traffic will have to turn south at Bush Street. The barrier will remain until the bridge reopens, Sutaria said.

Detour Decided The Santa Ana City Council has approved a detour system that will route traffic around the city’s Floral Park neighborhood Local traffic is expected to greatly increase with the closing of the Main Street bridge over the Santa Ana Freeway on July 1. 1. Traffic approaching Broadway on Santa Clara Avenue from either direction will be forced to turn north or south on Broadway. 2. Santa Clara between Broadway and Main Street becomes one way, westbound. 3. Buffalo Street between Broadway and Main also becomes one way, but eastbound. 4. There will be no eastbound traffic on 19th Street between Victoria Drive and Broadway. Westbound traffic on 19th will be able to cross Broadway. Source: City of Santa Ana