ORANGE : 3 Options Offered on La Veta Project

By LESLEY WRIGHT

July 5, 1994 12 AM PT

A citizens advisory committee studying ways to accommodate future traffic growth on a historic stretch of La Veta Avenue offered the City Council three options at a study session last week.

The La Veta Avenue Community Advisory Committee, which began meeting about nine months ago, could not agree on one recommendation because of conflicts between residents who want to preserve the area’s historic flavor and others who want to accommodate traffic that may double within 20 years, said city traffic engineer and committee chairman Bernie W. Dennis.

The group--composed of community members, business representatives and city staff--was finally able to agree on three proposals: to reduce traffic on the street by restricting land use, to create a “reversible travel lane” for use during peak traffic hours and to widen the road by about 12 feet.

Currently, 11,000 to 12,000 vehicles use the street each day. The city projects that the total could increase to 21,000 vehicles per day by the year 2010.

Public hearings on the three options in the group’s final report are scheduled to begin Aug. 16.

The La Veta project would be part of a citywide program to improve La Veta, Main Street and West Chapman Avenue, Dennis said.

The program may cost more than $25 million.

The council agreed to a separate study of La Veta Avenue between Cambridge and Glassell streets because residents strongly objected to proposed changes, according to the report.

“In all candor, there were some direct conflicts between the preservation element and the circulation element,” said Dennis, who characterized the discussions as “serious and intense.”

Councilwoman Joanne Coontz said the city should compliment Dennis “on working with such a diverse group.” Dennis assured her that “no blood was shed.”

When pressed by council members, Dennis said that city staff members would recommend widening the street as traffic increases.

“The question the council would have to wrestle with would be the mitigation efforts,” he said.