2 New Express Bus Routes Offer a Way Around the ‘Y’

Starting today, Valentine’s Day, the Orange County Transportation Authority will provide South County residents with a sweetheart of a commute as an alternative to the El Toro “Y.”

Two new express bus routes will begin serving South County today. One of the lines, Route 306, runs between San Juan Capistrano and major employment centers in Irvine, including offices near John Wayne Airport. The other line, Route 316, runs between San Juan Capistrano and the South Coast Metro area.

Each route is served by four northbound buses during morning hours and four southbound buses in the evening. In addition to serving San Juan Capistrano, both lines also stop in Laguna Hills and Mission Viejo before heading north.

Buses will make only a limited number of stops on both routes, which are designed to serve South County residents traveling to Irvine or Costa Mesa who now must drive through the El Toro “Y” interchange. Avoiding the “Y” has become increasingly important now that construction has begun on the interchange to increase its capacity.

South County commuters needing more information on express routes 306 and 316 may call OCTA at (800) 636-RIDE.

Dear Street Smart:

I’m a fair-weather bicycle commuter and ride seven miles between my home in Costa Mesa and my workplace in Fountain Valley. I used the west side of the Santa Ana River Trail until construction began.

Now that the levee has been rebuilt, I want to use it again. My problem: My exit from the trail was an access ramp at the east end of Garfield Avenue. At this time a ramp still exists there but appears to have been constructed for the dirt haulers. After the haulers are finished, will the ramp remain permanently?

The Garfield Avenue ramp is the only exit from the trail between Adams and Talbert avenues. A great many people used this access daily, before construction, and I hope we can continue to use it. Can you give me an update?

Kelly Christensen Costa Mesa Terrie Medeiros, project manager for the lower Santa Ana River, said that bicycles are not even allowed on the west side of the Santa Ana River Trail, which is designated as an equestrian path, she said.

The trail on the east side of the Santa Ana River is reserved for bicycle use, and the exits that would probably be most convenient for you are at Adams Avenue and Hamilton Avenue/Victoria Street, Medeiros said. The bicycle trail is paved with asphalt and cement, while the equestrian trail is paved with decomposed granite, which is softer on hoofs.

Dear Street Smart:

I wonder if those drivers who drive with their parking lights on know that it is always illegal. The law says you must turn your headlights on 30 minutes after sunset and use them until 30 minutes before sunrise.

You must also turn your lights on any time you can’t see at least 1,000 feet ahead. Use your headlights when it is cloudy, raining, snowing or foggy and on frosty mornings when other drivers’ windows may be icy or foggy. Any time you have trouble seeing other cars, other drivers will be having trouble seeing you too.

These sentences are from the DMV 1993/94 California Driver Handbook, Pages 38 and 39. My experience with seeing other cars after sunset is that just after the sun is completely over the horizon, the light changes such that many colors are harder to see, and this is especially true of car colors. Turning lights on sooner than 30 minutes after sunset would certainly help all of us see better.

Lou Mallinckrodt Tustin True. With the days still short and the rainy season in full swing, it is especially nice now to be reminded when to flip on those beams.

Street Smart appears Mondays in The Times Orange County Edition. Readers are invited to submit comments and questions about traffic, commuting and what makes it difficult to get around in Orange County. Include simple sketches if helpful. Letters may be published in upcoming columns. Please write to Caroline Lemke, c/o Street Smart, The Times Orange County Edition, P.O. Box 2008, Costa Mesa, Calif. 92626. Include your full name, address and day and evening phone numbers. Letters may be edited, and no anonymous letters will be accepted.