Council Unhappy with Proposed Triathlon-Related Street Closures

The Orangeman Triathlon—Orange County's only half-distance race—may not pass through San Juan Capistrano as organizers had intended.

The San Juan Capistrano City Council is hesitant to approve the route through town, because planners want to close Ortega Highway east of Avenida Siega, inconveniencing residents, as it's the only east-to-west arterial in the area. The proposed route would also force the closure of the bike trails along San Juan Creek and a portion of La Novia Avenue.

On Tuesday, the council continued a decision about whether to approve "encroachment permits" that would allow for the closure of the bike trails.  "A continuation means we would like to see a traffic study and all members of the City Council briefed on this," said Councilman Larry Kramer.

The race is scheduled to start at 7 a.m. Sept. 25 in Dana Point and is expected to draw as many as 1,000 people. The route through San Juan is slated to start when eastbound racers exit Stonehill Drive onto the San Juan Creek bike trail and head north to the pedestrian bridge. Cyclists will then head east on the Vereda Bike Trail to the Calle Arroyo bike trail.

Following that six-mile bike ride, racers will separate before taking the trail to Avenida Siega, where they will head north to Ortega Highway.

The racecourse turnaround is at El Cariso Village on Ortega Highway. It's proposed that the eastbound lanes be closed from 7:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and westbound from 8:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. There would be about two hours when both directions would be closed.

According to staffers, Caltrans is considering flagging cars on the westbound lanes of the one-quarter-mile section of the highway that's only two lanes, allowing cyclists to ride in the eastbound lanes. Once the highway widens to four lanes, cars and cyclists would have their own lanes separated by cones up to Antonio Parkway. From there, Caltrans would be OK with closing the highway east of Antonio.

Freese was outspokenly frustrated that the triathlon organizes had not approached the council earlier about the event and its desire to close the streets and trails. "It's a bit flaky," she said of the plan, and the fact that race organizers did not deliver a formal presentation to the council Tuesday.