OCTA Survey Signals Worst Traffic Spots

Among the county’s streets with the worst traffic flow, according to a survey by the Orange County Transportation Authority, are Culver Drive and Jamboree Road in Irvine, El Toro Road in Mission Viejo, Coast Highway in Laguna Beach and Valley View Boulevard in Garden Grove.

A list of more than 400 drivers’ complaints collected since Nov. 24 were given to officials from several Orange County cities during a committee meeting Wednesday.

The survey sought the public’s help in identifying thoroughfares and intersections where there’s an apparent lack of signal synchronization, a high priority among drivers, according to previous public opinion polls.

The problem intersections, receiving five complaints or more:

* Bake Parkway at the Foothill tollway near Lake Forest.

* Bristol Street at Warner Avenue in Santa Ana.

* Newland Street at Adams Street in Huntington Beach.

* Bolsa Chica Road at the San Diego Freeway in Westminster.

* MacArthur Boulevard at University Avenue in Irvine.

During Wednesday’s session, officials from several cities told OCTA public board member Sarah L. Catz, who initiated the survey, that she should have consulted them first.

“The public has unrealistic expectations,” Arya Rohani, Irvine’s manager of transportation services, said after the meeting. “We did not have input. . . . There’s a need for an education process.”

Rohani and others said there are many reasons why some intersections or street segments lack good signal coordination, including equipment failure, the inability of some equipment to perform the tasks needed, new construction, and unequal distance between traffic lights, especially in South County.

Besides, “if traffic volume exceeds the capacity of the street or intersection to handle it, signal coordination isn’t going to solve the problem,” Rohani added.

Catz said later that “a wide gap exists between the public perception and the perceptions of the professionals, and we need to work to reduce that gap substantially.”

“The technology is available to do something about this, so I think we should do it,” Catz added. “As a public board member, I have an obligation to listen to the public.”

City officials said they will work to establish a quick-response program to handle the motorists’ complaints.