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Home My WebLink AboutRPT 4 O.C. SUPERSTREET 5-15-89TO: WILLIAM HUSTON, CITY MANAGER FROM: PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT/ENGINEERING DIVISION SUBJECT: ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION SUPER STREET PROGRAM RECOMMENDATION: That the Tustin City Council at their meeting of May 15, 1989 support the Edinger Avenue/Irvine Center Drive/Moulton Parkway/Golden Lantern as the candidate street for the next Super Street Program within the County. BACKGROUND: As a part of the on-going Super Street Program, the Orange County Transportation Commission (OCTC) has identified seven streets as the strongest candidates for the next super street improvement project. The initial super street project,~ Beach. Boulevard, is expected to start construction in .1990. The seven candidate streets are as follows: 1. Imperial Highway' (Beach Boulevard to Yorba Linda Boulevard) 2. Katella Avenue (605 Freeway to Costa Mesa Freeway) 3. Bolsa Chica Road/Valley View Street (Warner Avenue to Riverside/ Artesia Freeway) 4. Bolsa Avenue/First Street (Bolsa Chica Road to Santa Ana Freeway) 5. Warner Avenue (Pacific Coast Highway to Harbor Boulevard 6. Edinger Avenue/Irvine Center Drive/Moulton Parkway/Golden Lantern (Costa Mesa Freeway to Pacific Coast Highway) 7. Irvine Boulevard (Costa Mesa Freeway to E1 Toro Road) ' Two of the above-mentioned streets, Irvine Boulevard and Edinger Avenue, directly affect the City of Tustin. The OCTC is soliciting comments from each of the local agencies that would be affected by each of the seven candidate streets as to whether the local agencies would be supportive of having a super street traverse through their community. The objective of the Super Street Program is to increase the vehicle- carrying capacity and improve the.traffic flow of the candidate street. The program improvements could include any or all of the following measures: 1. Traffic signal coordination 2. Roadway widening/restriping 3. Intersection widening 4. Parking restrictions 5. Bus turn-Outs 6. Driveway consolidation and median closures 7. Grade separated intersections OCTC SUPER STREET PROGRAM MAY 10, 1989 PAGE 2 A copy of the OCTC letter dated May 1, 1989 requesting local agency comments by May 24, 1989 is attached for reference. DISCUSSION: Given the impacts to existing developments adjacent to each candidate street within Tustin, staff would recommend that Edinger Avenue be supported as the candidate for the next super street project. Impacts to existing development would be minimal and the City could benefit from the increased capacity from four to six lanes. Edinger Avenue widening could lessen the traffic impacts to Walnut Avenue which traverses through existing residential areas. Bob Ledendecker Director of Public Works/City Engineer BL:mv Attach. ORANGE COUNTY TR~ NSPORT~ TiON COMMI ~3SION May 1, 1989. Bill Huston City Manager City of Tustin 300 Centenial Way Tustin, CA 92680 Dear Bill' Since 1985 the Orange County Transportation Commission (OCTC), Caltrans and eight cities t~~eVe, been ,worki.ng together to make Beach Boulevard Orange County's first suoer street s~n ,wo,rl( on_me project is well underway and we expect to start constr'uction nex't year. A~' e nnm p~ans for Beach Boulevard near completion, the Commission has begun the process of selecting the next super street project. Two of the streets OCTC is interested in are Irvine Boulevard and Edin~ger/Irvine Center Drive/Moulton Parkway/Golden Lantern. Since both these streets are major arterials in the city of Tustin we would like to get an initial reaction from the city on the potential of these streets as a super street. If you are unfamiliar with the Beach Boulevard project, the super street concept involves the implementation of a program of various physical transportation and transit improvements to create a high flow arterial street. The objective is to increase vehicle carrying capacity and improve traffic flow through the implementation of a combination of program measures. The program of improvements consists of: traffic signal coordination, roadway widening/ restriping, intersection widening, parking restrictions, bus turnouts, driveway consolidation, median closures and grade separated intersections. OCTC has identified seven streets we believe are the strongest candidates for the next super street. These seven streets were selected from the 21 arterials comprising the super street network adopted by the Commission in 1984. The' seven candidates are: Imperial Highway (Beach Blvd.-Yorba Linda Blvd.), Katella Avenue (SR 605-SR 55), Bolsa Chica Road/Valley View Street (Warner Ave.-SR 91), Bolsa Avenue/First Street (Bolsa Chica Rd.-Santa Aha Freeway), Warner Avenue (PCH-Harbor Blvd.), Edinger/lrvine Center Drive Moulton Parkway/Golden Lantern (SR 55-PCH), and Irvin¢ Boulevard (SR 55-EI Toro Road{. Over the next several weeks OCTC Mil be evaluating these streets to determine which ,two :ire most critical to the regional transportation system. Once two streets are selecied, the Commission xvill hir~e an engineering consultant lo prepare a project rcport to evaluate improvement alternatives and provide cost estimates. Based on the information containdd in these reports,, the Commission will select one of the two streets for the next super street project. One of the criteria we will use to evaluate the prospects of each of the seven candidates is th'e extent to which local jurisdictions along each street support the super street concept. Since the program of super street improvements may include intersection and roadway widenings and restricting on-street parking, gauging the potential political support or opposition is crucial to the Commission's decision making process. Our experience in planning and coordinating complex multi-jurisdictional projects suggests that oftentimes the success or Commissioners: GlaNce A. Blamer · Richard B. Edgar · Irv Pickler · Dana W. Reed · Thomas F Riley · Roger R. Stanton · Harriett M. Wieder · Keith E. McKean 1055 North Main, Suite 516, Santa Ana, California 92701 (714) 541-7850 Telecopier (714) 541-7843 Bill Huston City Manager Page 2 failure of a project can be directly linked to the level of support it receives from local officials. The Commission has no desire to initiate costly studies if local officials do not support the improvement concept being proposed. The purpose of this letter is to solicit general comments from council members and city staff · ° ,. · ° o o o o o ° ° concerning the mty s ~nterest ~n working w~th the Commmsmn and other c~tms to make Irv~ne Boulcvardor Edingcr/lrvine Center Drive/Moulton Parkway/Golden Lantern the next super street. We recognize that it maybe difficult to take a firm position at this time without knowing the scope of the project. However, we would like to receive some indication of the · city's interest in moving forward with project studies and eventually taking actions necessary to implement the project. Financing the super street project will be the responsibility of OCTC. The Commission will be receiving approximately $1.5 million annually over the next five years ($7.5 million) to finance a second super street project. Therefore, each of the seven candidate streets will be examined in terms of its potential to meet super street objectives at a cost commensurate with available funding. This, along with the reaction from affected cities and the regional significance of each facility will constitute the primary focus of our evaluation. The Southern California Association of Governments has allocated $173,000 to OCTC in FY 1989-90 to finance the two project studies. Scheduling calls for the Commission to select the two streets for project studies in late June with'selection of the-engineering consultant in .September. The primary task of the consultant will be to develop a program of ~mprovements, based on input from each city, that will meet the objectives of the super street progr, am. As with Beach Boulevard, it is the Commission's intention to work closely with each juriscliction in developing a comprehensive improvement plan. To keep the process on schedule we are requesting each city submit comments 'to OCTC by May 24, 1989. Again, the intent is to get general feedback from the cities as to whether they are supportive of the super street concept and interested in participating in more detailed studies. If you have any questions on this matter, please contact the Commission's Super Street Project Manager, Ed Mountford at 7'14/541-7850. Sincerely, Stan Oftelie Executive Director SO:EM:jjh