ORANGE – The Orange County Transportation Authority is seeking public input to help plan for the county’s transportation needs for the next 20 years and beyond.
Community members are encouraged to participate in an online survey at www.octa.net/LRTPsurvey through the end of October.
The survey, available in both English and Spanish, asks for public input on what Orange County’s transportation priorities should be through 2040 to help residents, workers and visitors move efficiently throughout the county.
Every four years, OCTA completes a Long-Range Transportation Plan that examines the county’s transportation needs, accounting for changes in demographics, the economy and available funding.
The plan explores trends in transit needs as the population changes and looks at a multi-modal transportation system, including buses, trains, freeways, city streets, bikeways and more. The Measure M program, the county’s half-cent sales tax for transportation, is the centerpiece of long-range planning. The Long-Range Transportation Plan includes Measure M projects and looks beyond at additional needs throughout the county.
The survey asks questions such as “When you think about transportation in Orange County in the year 2040 and beyond, what do you think OCTA should be focusing on?” The survey also asks participants to select which improvements to freeways, local streets and transit services they think would best help relieve congestion throughout the county.
The plan will address key issues such as projected population and employment growth in the region and the introduction of emerging technologies, including ridesharing services and autonomous and electric vehicles. It will also take into consideration the fact that there are few opportunities for significant freeway expansion beyond what is already planned through Measure M, so future transportation projects will focus on improving the efficiency of the existing system.
Results of the online survey will help shape the Long-Range Transportation Plan, which is the basis of OCTA’s input for the Regional Transportation Plan prepared by the Southern California Association of Governments.
OCTA’s outreach efforts culminate with a public review period planned for the spring of 2018. The final Long-Range Transportation Plan will be submitted to SCAG by fall of 2018.
