Costa Mesa Freeway to Get All-Purpose Lane in Each Direction

Dear Street Smart:

Every morning I travel the northbound Costa Mesa Freeway, and daily I see numerous drivers exiting onto the Garden Grove Freeway from the wrong lane.

I, too, am exiting the Costa Mesa Freeway at this juncture (from the slow lane, however), and I always have to look out for someone to my left cutting in front of me to make the transition. Why doesn’t law enforcement do something about this?

Secondly, the on-ramp to the westbound Garden Grove Freeway at The City Drive is long and has two lanes, one of which is a diamond lane. The traffic in the non-diamond lane backs up all the way onto The City Drive.

I have noticed that few people use the diamond lane, and about half of those who do are solo occupants.

It would seem to make sense to eliminate the diamond lane, thereby alleviating the congestion onto The City Drive.

M.J. Lambertsen

Lake Forest

It may help to know that there are plans to add one all-purpose lane in each direction on the Costa Mesa Freeway between 17th Street and Garden Grove Freeway including the connector ramps. Construction is expected to start in January.

Regarding your second question, a recent traffic survey of the The City Drive’s westbound on-ramp found that 20% of the approximately 8,700 vehicles that use it per day are legal car pools, said Rose Orem, a spokeswoman for Caltrans. Therefore, Caltrans is hesitant to remove the diamond-lane designation.

Caltrans will, however, adjust the meter on the other lane to speed the flow of cars onto the freeway, she said.

Dear Street Smart:

Traveling north on Moulton Parkway at the traffic speed of 45 m.p.h., you pass the traffic lights at El Toro Road, then an incline and about a block later you encounter traffic lights at Gate 12 of Leisure World.

There is no warning that traffic will exit or enter Gate 12 nor is there a view of possible traffic exiting Gate 12 on their green light. Many accidents have occurred there and many near-accidents happen there almost every day.

This might be avoided by a simple warning light placed halfway up the incline stating “Danger--Traffic Light Ahead.”

Gordon K. Bern

Laguna Hills

Investigators of Orange County’s traffic engineering department are assessing that area for visibility problems, said Ignacio Ochoa, traffic engineer. It may be that overgrown vegetation on the median of the road and on Leisure World’s side is the culprit and needs to be cut back, he said.

If the roadway does not meet visibility requirements for other reasons, corrective measures will be taken, Ochoa said. It would be a simple thing to erect a “Signal Ahead” sign, he said.

The number of accidents on Moulton Parkway near Gate 12 has not been unusually high, especially since the traffic signal was installed at Gate 12 about eight years ago, he said.

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People who use the county’s Dial-A-Ride bus services will have an opportunity to speak out about proposed changes and possible reductions in transit van service for senior citizens.

The public can testify at a hearing conducted by the Orange County Transportation Authority at 9 a.m. May 9, at the Planning Commission Hearing Room, 10 Civic Center Plaza, Santa Ana.

The changes, which include the phase out of Dial-A-Ride service for able-bodied senior citizens, are being proposed as part of a plan to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The federal law requires all transit operators to provide comparable service for people who can’t use public transit due to a disability.

For more information on this hearing, call OCTA customer relations at 714-636-RIDE.

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, 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.