People commuting along the Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach and Dana Point might see reduced travel times in a few years as Laguna Beach officials apply for funding from the Orange County Transportation Authority to synchronize traffic lights to ease gridlock.
If approved by the authority, the proposed project would stretch about 12 miles along the Pacific Coast Highway from School/State Park in Laguna Beach to Doheny Road in Dana Point, synchronizing 24 lights in Laguna Beach and 16 in Dana Point.
Through Measure M2, about $2,688,000, or 80% of the project, would be grant funded if the Orange County Transportation Authority approves Laguna Beach’s application.
Laguna Beach and Dana Point would split the remaining costs, with Laguna covering a little over $400,000 of the funds – a decision city leaders would have to greenlight after receiving the grant funds according to the city staff report.
At a Tuesday night meeting discussing the project, Laguna Beach Assistant City Engineer Tran Tran said the proposal doesn’t mean making the entire corridor green.
Rather, he said it’s about finding the sweet spot.
“The idea is that you get more greens than reds. Fewer stops equals being more efficient, less idling and less emission use for those that are looking at the environmental side,” Tran said at the Oct. 27 meeting. “Overall meaning, you will have a shorter travel time.”
It’s not the first project to look at shortening commutes in Orange County.
This proposed traffic light project comes after Anaheim took lead in another synchronization project, the State College Boulevard/City Drive project, initiated earlier this summer. Through Measure M2, Anaheim approved plans to bring improvements at 58 intersections across their city and the cities of Brea, Fullerton and Orange.
“The goals of the project is to reduce traffic congestion and delays, lower greenhouse gas emission and improve air quality, and use those regional dollars for [traffic] signal infrastructure improvements, and finally improve signal timing across city borders or neighboring agencies,” Tran said.
In addition to partnering with Dana Point, Tran said Laguna Beach will partner with CalTrans because CalTrans will own and maintain the 24 traffic signals within Laguna Beach, with the agency already signing off on a letter supporting the deal.
But Councilmember Bob Whalen said it’s important to consider traffic impacts when collecting data, specifically referring to the closure of Pacific Coast Highway at El Morro due to a crack forming along the bluff.
“If we do get awarded—I mean I think it’s great that we are going to get updated traffic counts, you know, but I wouldn’t think we would want to do those until CalTrans gets State Route 1 [Pacific] Coast Highway reopened at El Morro because I think that affects a normal flow,” Whalen said.
Tran said the city does not currently have the ability to remotely access the 24 signal cabinets to change signal timing plans, noting the current process could take weeks.
During his presentation, Tran discussed proposed infrastructure, including remote access to the signals to change signal times in-real-time, video cameras to monitor movements and detect vehicles, pedestrians and bicycles. He also suggested incorporating an emergency evacuation plan, allowing the city to remotely administer greenlights during evacuations.
Councilmember Hallie Jones asked how long the project is anticipated to take once the project starts. Tran said it would take about a year once the project breaks ground.
“We go pretty quickly, I’ve done this numerous times for other agencies,” Tran said. “It’s just a matter of making sure that we got the right players that we are talking to—I feel like I have the network to do that, and so for me, it’s going to take about a year.”
Lauren Contreras is a Voice of OC Tracy Wood Reporting Fellow. You can reach her at laurencontreras615@gmail.com.
