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Introducing The Beltway

Connecting-up the 73 and 241 toll roads at I-5.
The Smart Alternative to paving a needless toll road south of Ortega Highway to Trestles.

Getting traffic moving through South County - finally. South County's looming traffic snafu is an east-west problem. Not north-south as advertised by the TCA in their media hyped rush to pour miles of expensive concrete where it's not needed, south of Ortega Hwy.

Connecting the 241 and the 73 dots in Mission Viejo would ease south-county's east-west commute-conundrum by offering OC foothill communities a direct route to Irvine,  Costa Mesa and John Wayne Airport, bypassing freeway traffic as far east as Euclid at the 405, and Jamboree at I-5.

The Beltway creates a perfect south-county traffic loop. With improvements to Jamboree and Laguna Canyon Road now complete, residents could circle OC from Tustin to San Juan Capistrano and never touch a freeway!

Put the road where it's needed!!! Thousands of our neighbors live in OC’s eastern foothill communities; Rancho Santa Margarita, Ladera Ranch, Mission Viejo, and will soon be joined by 40,000 new residents of Rancho Mission Viejo's mega 14,000 home development east of Mission Viejo – all commuting east-to-west.

But TCA's wishful 241-south extension -- runs north and south. Why??? TCA maps were drawn-up in the 80s and 90s when county “leaders” were banking on El Toro Airport to bring thousands more daily-drivers to and from surrounding counties.
Theoretically, the 73 and 241 tolls roads would have eased the I-5/405 airport-traffic-crush as northbound I-5 traffic from San Diego heading to the 91 could bypass the airport-traffic-crush (I-5/405 interchange) by taking a 241-South toll road extension at SONGS nuclear plant. Conversely, 405 southbound traffic from points west would bypass the same airport-crush by merging onto the 73-South toll road in Fountain Valley.

For doubters questioning the long term logic of El Toro Airport financially anchoring TCA's south-county toll road triangle note: the airport was to be finished in 2020, the same year OC's toll road bonds reached maturity. Coincidence, or a long-range plan? Remember, the airport was a slam-dunk.

The Beltway – a logical re-purposing of a failing toll road asset. Turning a negative into a positive, The Beltway is the logical “re-purposing” of the flummoxed 241 and 73 toll roads, by offering the 10's of 1,000's of daily car-commuters passing through our county the badly needed east/west seamless-traffic corridor, while serving our south county car-commuter needs and the needs of future south-county highway-commuters.

Now's the time to shelve old, outdated traffic plans (airport's dead and gone) and put our roads where they're needed most – not through wilderness that will never be developed.

No more fool's roads. We can't afford them.

The Beltway would bring financial benefits to a revenue-strapped TCA. Financially troubled, the 73 and the 241 would reap increased revenues because drivers would flow
seamlessly from one toll road to the other. A level of traffic synergy not possible with any other plan. Will it keep the 73 from defaulting on its bond debts without dangerous, convoluted loan bailouts? Hopefully.

Traffic-connectivity is key to maintaining traffic flow and harmony at the TCA. OC's toll road “network” is run by two competing Boards of Directors – one for the 73 and one for the 241. Together they make up the acrimonious TCA – OC's divided-house of toll road dysfunction, the Transportation Corridors Agency.

None of their house-divided toll road maps show the Beltway concept. The Beltway marries the two toll roads, and the two battling-TCA Boards – putting a stop to  TCA's ongoing War of The Roads divorce proceedings.

Making the Vision Real Kick-starting a stalled TCA Like their old-world OC highway maps, TCA Board Members are stuck in the 80s, unwilling to modify their failing toll road fantasy.

The Beltway Plan is overdue – A Brief History of Drawing Lines on OC Maps. The County Master Plan of Arterial Highways-- cited by TCA to justify their projects -
originally scribed an eastward-extension at Avery Parkway right about the time TCA had  their toll road epiphany and zap!, the Avery-extension mysteriously disappeared from all maps. Hmm.

The Beltway redraws that Smart traffic connection.

It would:
*have a multilane extension of the 241, built parallel to the original Avery Parkway route.
* connect the 241 with the 73 at I-5.
* be tunneled, trenched, or bridged to minimize local impacts
* work perfectly with new roads already approved between Rancho Mission Viejo and San Juan Capistrano
* link to Ortega Hwy, intersect Antonio Pkwy to serve Ladera, Mission Viejo, and Rancho Santa Margarita.

The Beltway's 241 south-extension never goes south of Ortega Highway.
No need to, if OC's motoring-public convinces our county leaders to take the shackles off OC's
freeway traffic by dumping TCA's Non-Compete Agreement into OC's trash-bin of OLD BAD TRAFFIC IDEAS
so we can fix San Clemente's portion of I-5, eliminating the need for a toll road south of Ortega Hwy.

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OC's Worst Traffic Nightmare Scenario - The Non-Compete Agreement - explained. In 1993 OC politicians forced Caltrans to sign the Non-Compete Agreements which:
* prohibits Caldrons from improving freeways within 5 miles of a toll way if - such improvement would lure drivers from a toll way.
* requires Caltrans to pay TCA - compensation for “lost” tolls if Caltrans improves a freeway anyway.
* requires Caltrans to use all of its influence, with the public, and with local agencies, to support TCA’s toll way dreams and to dissuade others from improving roads within the 5 mile Non-Compete zone.

When TCA completes a toll way, it becomes the property of the State of California, maintained by Caltrans, and patrolled by the CHP.
You pay for both Caltrans and CHP service.Why do we pay tolls to use roads “we” own? Because costs to design and build the roads aren’t -- supposedly-- paid for with your tax dollars. The money is raised through bonds, sold to investors, with the promise of making a profit on their investment. The 73's toll road bonds are currently junk-status.

Non-Compete Agreements are supposed to guarantee bondholders their due. As an OC driver, you have a choice - pay to use the toll ways, or drive the freeway. The worse the freeway-- the more jammed and frustrating your drive-- the more likely you are to pay the toll. EXCEPT (welcome to toll road Catch-22) TCA's Congestion-Management model prices the majority of potential toll road users OFF toll roads during peak traffic hours by setting sky-high tolls.

Result: we have toll roads we pay for and can't use. If we do - we pay twice. Once in taxes and again at the tollbooth as you sit stalled on a freeway you also pay for, but are legislated from fixing solely because of TCA's evil Non-Compete Agreement.

There’s no road around the evil Non-Compete Agreements. As OCTA found out when they wanted to improve safety & flow on the 91, they had to buy back the 91 Toll Lanes—
at 4-times the cost of construction ( a brief 4 years prior, from its French owners, who still manage it) with $-millions of your tax dollars!!! just to add freeway lanes. TCA doesn’t care if I-5 needs improvements to make it safer & flow (Caltrans has the plans ready to go).Even when I-5 improvements move more traffic, more efficiently, with less frustration - you will pay the TCA. Or, we could just dump the ridiculous Non-Competes.

Sad OC-Commuter Held-Hostage Fact: So you pay for everything; the toll road, use it or not, and your stalled freeway the Non-Compete keeps you from fixing. How's it feel neighbor? Note: TCA Board members are selected and appointed, one from each OC City Council. Except for one south-county city, the people you vote into office are keeping you mired in toll road/freeway commuter-hell. It's also their plan for 05 and the future. - your future.

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If The Beltway fits - wear it.
A watered down version of the Beltway is being considered as a Measure M project  by the Orange County Transportation Authority’ (OCTA). Let's not settle for watered down - let's get it right - once and forever.

If the Beltway Plan makes sense to you - spread the word. Forward this information to anyone driving south-county roads. We expect opposition to the Beltway concept - Why?  Because it's based on common sense traffic solutions, not blurry old-boy politicized thinking.

You won’t read about The Beltway anywhere but here. TCA scoffs at any idea keeping a 241-extension from crossing south over Ortega Highway, precisely where it's not needed.  Removing the Non-Compete-Agreement enables improvement of the I-5 expediting traffic flow.

No Homes Taken - ever: Research by Interstate traffic experts show a planned-for Caltrans I-5 fix requires:
* no double-decking
* no taking of homes
* would absorb twice as much expected traffic, than a $12, one-way 241 toll road from San Onofre to the 91.

Tell OCTA and the TCA you support the 73 /241/I-5 Beltway Connection. Tell your City Council – and your neighbors too.

Take the Measure M Poll
http://www.questback.com/octa/measurem/
Go to page 2. Toll Road Choices - Check the box (Pete, is this complete? what box designation)
http://www.questback.com/octa/measurem/

Start the debate - now. Forward this link to a friend.

Let's get traffic moving.

If we're all smart enough to live in South Orange County,  why can't our traffic model be just as smart?