Toll Roads Answer Needs

* Re “County Transit Projects Signal Critical Road Ahead,” Oct. 19 editorial:

The question of whether new roads cause development or arise to serve existing development can be answered . . . both.

It should be recognized that the planning for the Eastern Corridor originated with the North East Orange County Circulation Study of the 1970s. The objective of the study was to relieve congestion on the Costa Mesa (55) Freeway.

When the Eastern Transportation Corridor Joint Powers Agency was formed, only cities interested in the corridor as a parallel relief valve to the overcrowded 55 participated. Those original cities were Anaheim, Orange, Santa Ana, Tustin and Yorba Linda.

Regional transportation problems increased as the economic engine accelerated. Higher paying jobs were here, but the affordable housing was in the Inland Empire. Long commutes jammed the 55 through Orange, denied our citizens access to this important roadway, and caused our surface arterials to become highly congested.

The public policy that led to the creation of the toll roads began to be driven by alleviating congestion and providing for the developments that were approved in anticipation of the corridors, principally in South County. The Foothill Circulation Phasing Plan solved a financing problem and at the same time accelerated development.

South County residents should recognize that their housing developments were responsible for greater congestion on roads in North County areas, which could no longer accommodate existing commuters and the new generation of traffic. The 24 miles of the Eastern Transportation Corridor, envisioned to relieve the 55 Freeway, should have been completed first, not last.

The completion of major transportation projects takes decades. Today it is evident that there would be more congestion and a poorer quality of life without the completion of the toll roads. Balancing infrastructure with the quality of life is a continuing challenge for land use and transportation planners and elected officials, especially in a county that has become a business and population magnet.

As a member of the Eastern Transportation Board of Directors, I support the completion of the corridors, and join with other agency representatives in our attention to the environmental concerns of member cities as we move toward buildout.

MAYOR JOANNE COONTZ

Orange