By Larry Kramer
I just read some information in one of the McCarthy/Byrnes flyers about some things that they are going to do to improve traffic in the city, and it surprised me because positive action has alreadybeen taken by the City Council and City staff – someone did not do their homework.
The intersection at Rancho Viejo Road and Junipero Serra has already been reconfigured to facilitate smoother traffic flow. This $1.3 million dollar project required $24,000 for a problem noted after construction. The change cost less than 2 percent of the total cost, and was done in five days. We have taken the approach that if we see a problem we fix it.
Elimination of the “Ghost Train” is already being accomplished.This problem goes back many years and has become a significant concern since the safe crossings were installed. The City Council asked OCTA to study this; they did, and they proposed asolution, which the City Council accepted. OCTA is working on implementing that potential solution now.
A proposed off-ramp at Stonehill is already on the project list from OCTA’s ½-cent tax funds. It is still a long shot because there is no money currently earmarked for it.
The City Council has done some very positive work in the past few years. Give us some credit for taking action to benefit our residents.
Larry Kramer
Kramer is the mayor of San Juan Capistrano.
