Orange County, California transportation officials want to widen the 405 to reduce travel times and ease predicted congestion. The cities of Seal Beach and Long Beach are concerned about how that will impact traffic on surface streets.
Erika Aquilar reports on the latest news in an ongoing legal battle between the state of California and two cities in Southern California. The cities of Long Beach and Seal Beach sued the California Department of Transportation in 2015 "over plans to add one toll lane and one free lane to the 405 between State Route 73 in Costa Mesa and the 605 Freeway near the Los Angeles County line. The proposal also calls for converting the existing carpool lane into a toll lane."
The cities are concerned that the new freeway capacity will spill new traffic onto their surface streets, so "they want Caltrans and the Orange County Transportation Authority to pay for more traffic congestion solutions on city surface streets," according to Aguilar.
The cities believe that if Caltrans widens the final stretch of I-405 in Orange County, the additional traffic will spill onto surface streets when it hits a bottleneck at the Los Angeles County line. Orange County Transportation Authority is pitching the project as needed congestion relief.
Drive times on the 405 between SR-73 and the 605 are projected to take more than an hour by the year 2040 but, according to the OCTA, with the additional free lane, that commute could be cut in half; and up to 13 minutes if a driver chooses to pay for the toll lanes.
Aguilar also covered the controversy before Long Beach took legal action in 2015.
FULL STORY: Legal fight over the 405 expansion in Orange County moves to San Diego
A Traffic Solution 'Straight Out of the 1950s'
That's how the Los Angeles Times editorial board characterized the $6 billion plan by Los Angeles Metro to widen the 710 freeway. "A waste of money," they assert. Key to the solution is how to deal with goods movement from the seaport complex.
Caltrans Overrides OCTA: 405 Freeway Widening Must Include Toll Lane
Transportation decisions are best made locally, not by the state DOT, right? For those advocating for tolled, managed lanes over free, general purpose lanes, the 405 Freeway in Orange County may prove the exception.
User Fees and Sales Tax Dollars Finance $1.9 Billion Four-Lane Freeway Widening
A 16-mile express lane and general purpose lane will be added in each direction of the San Diego Freeway in Orange County. A $629 million TIFIA loan will be repaid by toll-paying motorists, while all taxpayers pay most of the remainder.
Trump Administration Could Effectively End Housing Voucher Program
Federal officials are eyeing major cuts to the Section 8 program that helps millions of low-income households pay rent.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Ken Jennings Launches Transit Web Series
The Jeopardy champ wants you to ride public transit.
Driving Equity and Clean Air: California Invests in Greener School Transportation
California has awarded $500 million to fund 1,000 zero-emission school buses and chargers for educational agencies as part of its effort to reduce pollution, improve student health, and accelerate the transition to clean transportation.
Congress Moves to End Reconnecting Communities and Related Grants
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee moved to rescind funding for the Neighborhood Equity and Access program, which funds highway removals, freeway caps, transit projects, pedestrian infrastructure, and more.
From Throughway to Public Space: Taking Back the American Street
How the Covid-19 pandemic taught us new ways to reclaim city streets from cars.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
Ada County Highway District
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service