Survey: O.C. Voters Oppose New Road Through Forest

Most Orange County voters oppose a highway or tunnel through the Cleveland National Forest as a way to relieve severe congestion on the Riverside Freeway, a new transportation poll shows.

The survey represents the first time the Orange County public has been asked about a Riverside County proposal to build another transportation corridor linking the counties. All the potential routes cross the national forest--options that have yet to receive much political support in Orange County.

Backers of the plan say the Riverside Freeway will not be able to handle the projected doubling of traffic by 2020. About 250,000 motorists use the highway daily during morning and evening rush hours, almost all of them from Riverside County.

The poll by the Orange County Transportation Authority found that 61% of potential voters strongly oppose or somewhat oppose a new corridor if it were to go through the forest. Less than a third favor the proposal, and the rest are undecided.

The poll shows that most Orange County voters would rather the Riverside Freeway be widened, additional rail service be built between the counties or an express bus service started that would use special lanes on the highway.

“The poll clearly shows that solutions to the [freeway congestion] should come first before we entertain the thought of such an environmentally intrusive proposal,” said Todd Spitzer, an OCTA board member and Orange County supervisor whose district would be affected by a new corridor.

The survey, which queried a random sample of 600 likely voters on a range of transportation matters, was released Monday during the OCTA board meeting. Lawrence Research, a Santa Ana polling company, conducted the telephone survey from June 18 to 21. Its margin of error is plus or minus 4.1%.

OCTA officials say the $25,000 survey is part of a continuing program partly intended to factor public opinion into the agency’s planning process.

Despite the opposition to a new corridor, officials for the Riverside County Transportation Commission say they will not be deterred from developing another highway link.

The Riverside County proposal suggests routes that cross wildlife habitat and scenic areas of the Santa Ana Mountains in Orange County, including Ladd, Harding, Trabuco and Hot Springs canyons. Because of the rugged terrain, a new highway might cost more than $1 billion, and tunneling would be necessary.

Riverside County officials acknowledge that the freeway should be improved, but they say that will not be enough to accommodate the projected doubling of Riverside County’s population in the next 20 years.

They note that the only other corridor between the counties is Ortega Highway, an old, two-lane route to south Orange County that was never intended to be a major commuter road.

“The idea of a new transportation corridor between the counties is generally well-supported here,” said John Standiford, a spokesman for the Riverside County Transportation Commission. “The poll will not lessen our resolve to seek another highway route.”

Officials from both counties agree that the Riverside Freeway needs to be improved and that they should cooperate on regional transportation issues. But another major conflict in easing Riverside Freeway traffic is how to deal with the Express Lanes, a four-lane toll road along 10 miles of the freeway. The lanes are operated by a private company.

Riverside County officials oppose keeping the lanes private, because a noncompetition clause in a contract between the company and the state prevents Caltrans from widening the public portion of the freeway. OCTA officials have supported the lanes.

“We are not saying a new route can’t be discussed. But let’s look at the 91 before we go there,” said Michael Ward, chairman of the OCTA board of directors. “I think the public is saying the same thing.”

The poll results are similar to a limited OCTA survey released in late May that asked local business leaders, landowners, government officials and environmentalists about Riverside County’s proposal to build a new transportation corridor. Responses from about 70 people indicated that other options should be exhausted before a route through the Cleveland National Forest is considered.