Improving safety & mobility

Whether you’re taking the kids to school, going to the market or running errands, mobility matters. But it matters most when a life is at stake.

No one knows this better than Fred. He's a firefighter for the Orange County Fire Authority. He and his partners depend on well-maintained streets and roads to get to emergencies quickly and to safely transport people to hospitals.

During the year, M2 funds helped keep first responders like Fred and all Orange County residents moving. Streets and intersections were improved. Synchronized traffic signals gave the green light to more motorists, and, through the OC Bridges Program, the planning and construction of under/overpasses at eight major highway/rail crossings were progressing.

Measures to keep traffic flowing Improving our streets

Improved city streets create congestion relief for motorists. Under the M2 Local Fair Share Program, OCTA distributed $41.3 million to Orange County’s 34 cities and the County of Orange for loc al street and road improvements in fiscal year 2011-12. During the past year, OCTA also awarded approximately $35 million (including $9.6 million in State and Local Partnership Program funds) through the Regional Capacity Program to improve intersections, freeway interchanges and local streets and roads. (Project O) (Project Q)

Synchronizing signals

Traffic signal synchronization is a cost-effective way to reduce overall stops and travel delays. During the year, 24 projects were awarded funds to synchronize 533 traffic signals covering 141 miles on Orange County’s major streets as part of the M2 Regional Traffic Signal Synchronization Program. (Project P)

Building bridges

Every day, close to 70 freight trains use the Orangethorpe Corridor in Anaheim, Fullerton and Placentia, causing traffic delays and safety hazards. Working with affected jurisdictions, OCTA created the OC Bridges program which seeks to separate car traffic from trains by building underpasses and overpasses on major streets to cross train tracks. Construction also began on an additional project at Sand Canyon Boulevard in Irvine, along the LOSSAN Corridor. This past year, construction began on three of the eight planned projects, which include the Kraemer Avenue and Placentia Boulevard undercrossing projects. (Project O) (Project R)