I read an article by staff writer Heather Ignatin in this morning’s OC Register reminding Orange County readers that today marks the first day of Bike to Work Week. She actually quotes a guy who bikes to work from Diamond Bar to Disneyland on a regular basis. That’s a 46 mile round trip. Is he nuts? He clearly doesn’t wear a business suit and high heeled shoes. I’m also fairly certain he’s sporting a nice “helmet-head” hairdo by the time he gets to work. And what about safety? Have you seen seen how people drive during commuter hours?
In a separate article today, Ignatin reports “Today the Orange County Transportation Authority will unveil a laundry list of ideas that it hopes will address gridlock from the 55 Freeway south to San Clemente. The $1.2 million study encompasses freeways and streets, along with mass transit.” She quotes Tammy Warren, the OCTA’s Outreach Project Manager as saying, “There’s lots of challenges out there.” You think?
I find it interesting that these articles follow so closely on the heels of the recent press coverage on the troubled forecast for 241 Toll Road completion. Yes people. We have a traffic problem. But will another 1.2 million dollar study produce any results? Have studies done on behalf of the TCA produced a connected 241 Toll Road? Will OCTA’s laundry list, that they “hope will address gridlock,” be anything more than a restating of ideas that have already been bounced around for the past two decades?
Ignatin writes “the region’s wide meandering streets and high household income encourage people to use their cars rather than take the bus.” While that may be true in a small number of cases, most residents in Rancho Santa Margarita and The Canyons don’t use the bus because it’s pathetically inconvenient. You can’t get from Point A to Point B without going a considerable distance out of your way and it takes 2-3 times as long to get there. Not a chance I’m going to sign up for that.
I have no real solutions for solving South Orange County’s traffic problems other than my opinion that the 241 Toll Road should be completed immediately. In the meantime, until the powers that be can find a way to take action, I choose to stay off the freeways as much as possible.
For those RSM residents interested in participating in Bike to Work Week, Bike Metro provides a means for you to map out your commute using existing bike lanes. You can pledge your participation at the Orange County’s Bike to Work Week. Participants are asked to pledge that they’ll ride their bike to work at least once during the week.
Photo: Bicycle Messenger By: Thomas Hawk