The larger world is dealing with life and death issues such as terrorism, civil wars, refugees and migration. Both the world and the U.S. are divided on solutions to these critical issues.
Locally, we have one issue, which potentially can unite us: our traffic. Whether it’s the 405 expansion, the Village 605 mall (at the I-605 intersection with Katella), or the nearby downtown Los Alamitos Blvd. project, there is much to be concerned about.
The larger world is dealing with life and death issues such as terrorism, civil wars, refugees and migration. Both the world and the U.S. are divided on solutions to these critical issues.
Locally, we have one issue, which potentially can unite us: our traffic. Whether it’s the 405 expansion, the Village 605 mall (at the I-605 intersection with Katella), or the nearby downtown Los Alamitos Blvd. project, there is much to be concerned about.
Traffic is one of the great leveling influences of our era. Whether you drive in a used Ford Fiesta, or a shiny new Rolls Royce Phantom [$500,000 plus], traffic is the equalizer. Even with GPS navigation, when gridlock happens, everyone suffers, even the ultra rich. And for working Moms, traffic can make a difficult day into an impossible one.
Whether one lives or works in Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Cypress, Rossmoor or adjacent areas, our mutual traffic challenges are increasing. So who is to blame?
There are several governmental agencies responsible for our local traffic mess: The U.S. Department of Transportation, the California Transportation Commission, the California State Transportation Agency, The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) and local government planning commissions and departments. Ultimately, these agencies are run by appointees of the Governor, the Legislature, the County Board of Supervisors and Orange County City Councils.
For years, these governmental bodies (and their predecessors) have ignored the realities of population and density in Southern California. For example, of the six most populated counties in the entire U.S., three are crowded into Southern California (Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange). Riverside is the 10th most populated county and San Bernardino is the 12th.
After San Francisco County, Orange County has the highest population density in the entire state of California. Not only is OC higher than LA County in population density, but it’s also higher than Milwaukee, Dallas and Wayne (home to Detroit) Counties.
Over the last 75 years, as Orange County grew from rural orange groves to mega-malls and high-rise offices, governmental transportation and planning experts (and their elected bosses) invested billions in inefficient highways instead of genuine mass transit.
Only 130,760 people lived in the OC in 1940 while LA County had 2.8 million residents. By 1960, the numbers grew to 703,925 for OC and 6 million for LA. By 1990, the populations grew to 2.4 million and 8.9 million.
In that year, 1990, LA opened its first mass transit rail line, the Blue Line. Yet, to this day, Orange County is still without a bona fide mass transit rail line. Yes, there is Metrolink, running on the old Southern Pacific Railroad right-of-way, but it is a standard railroad and is not a genuine mass transit system for Orange County. There is also the planned OC Streetcar, but that is years away from completion and is a limited project geared towards tourism centered around Disneyland.
The multi-billion dollar 405 freeway “expansion” in the short run will make traffic even worse, and in the long run it will create more congestion in the regular lanes.
The project includes eliminating the existing car-pool lanes and replacing them with two toll lanes in each direction. It is an absurd non-solution to a very real problem.
So, in the end, will traffic unite us? I think so.
Increased traffic congestion will force us to either be stuck in traffic gridlock or work together to change our outdated transportation system.
Joel Block is a retired attorney living in Rossmoor.
This column appeared in the March 1, 2017 print edition of the News Enterprise.