As a resident of South County for more than 20 years and Supervisor of Orange County’s Fifth District, I represent our community’s voice on a daily basis on all County matters.

One of my top priorities when I was elected to this position was to protect our region’s quality of life, and I believe that key to this is improving both our current and future mobility.

Whether driving on our local streets and roads, or braving the 5 & 405 Freeways, we can all see that as our county grows, our transportation system is becoming more congested.

Now is the time to plan for the future!

As County Supervisor, I also represent South County on the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors. OCTA is the County’s primary transportation agency and is charged with studying, planning and implementing projects and services to meet our transportation needs.

OCTA has initiated the South Orange County Major Investment Study (SOCMIS) to develop transportation solutions for improving mobility in South County, and I am Chair of that committee.

As we move through the study process, various alternatives for improving travel in South County will be considered.

The study will define short and long term transportation needs as well as examine a wide range of options for improving traffic flow in South County. This is not limited to the study of Interstate 5. The goal is to come up with a long-range, balanced transportation plan that is expected to include varied solutions such as improved streets and roads, transit, commuter rail and express bus service additions & improvements.

The expected result of this technical and stakeholder-driven process will be a series of recommended transportation improvement strategies.

As we move through the study, we understand that there may be ideas included that may raise community support as well as concern. In an effort to develop regional transportation solutions, we will gather the benefits of doing the various improvements along with feedback received from local stakeholders before determining which ideas merit further study and which ones should be removed from consideration.

I am well aware of the issues regarding the proposed widening of Ortega Highway. I realize what happens to this roadway is of great concern to residents of San Juan Capistrano as well as surrounding areas.

Traffic studies have shown the need for widening this arterial in order to meet the growing transportation demand in the area in addition to addressing the critical need for public safety accessibility; but I also understand that transportation needs must be balanced with community standards and impacts. As such, you have my commitment to work diligently to ensure this balance takes place.

We anticipate reaching the final stage of the South Orange County Major Investment Study early next year. If all goes as planned, a program of projects and a "locally preferred strategy" is expected to be brought to the OCTA Board in early 2008 for consideration.

If adopted, these will move forward to further environmental and engineering studies.

I assure my South County neighbors that the goals of this study will be sensitive to local concerns, be objective in developing options, and provide a framework for decision-makers on the direction of future steps through intensive stakeholder and public involvement efforts.

I hope South County citizens will consider becoming involved in this important study that will shape the way we travel over the next 25 years.

Please visit our study website at www.octa.net/socmis to complete our survey, see when upcoming meetings are scheduled, or sign up for email updates.

For more information on how you can participate, please contact OCTA’s project outreach manager Tamara Warren at (714) 560-5590.