ORANGE COUNTY TRANSPORTATION AUTHORITY (OCTA) (C-1-3289)

Home Browse Search

Amendments to the Master Plan of Arterial Highways Page 4 Amendment to the MPAH require a review of the potential circulation implications of the change. The City utilized the General Plan Update Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR)-Traffic Impact Study (TIS) for the MPAH amendment process. The TIS reviews existing and future traffic conditions of the current general plan and of the proposed land use and circulation element updates. Additional analysis was completed that focused on the identification of the impacts and mitigations associated with the changes to the MPAH, as opposed to the overall General Plan Update evaluated by the PEIR. The City plans to adopt the General Plan Update and PEIR in late fall 2020. The proposed MPAH amendments are recommended for conditional approval by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors (Board) contingent on compliance with the MPAH Guidance, and additional terms identified in the Recommendations. Discussion The 17 segments proposed for reclassification would result in a reduction of approximately 30 existing lane miles. Deletions and downgrades on the MPAH may be allowed if the increased traffic volumes in the affected agencies do not result in the unmitigated peak -hour intersection impacts (Guidance for Administration of the MPAH, Section 4.0 MPAH Amendment Policies). If impacts to the MPAH system are identified as a result of the proposed amendment, approval of an amendment may be subject to the execution of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between OCTA and affected agencies, which specify roles and responsibilities for implementation of any identified mitigations. The TIS analyzed 105 intersections with 18 identified that could be impacted due to the MPAH amendment request (Attachment C). Of the 18 impacted intersections, four are located outside the City in the following jurisdictions: City of Fountain Valley (1), City of Orange (1), and the City of Tustin (2). The City proposed a draft mitigation program to ensure that mitigations for impacted intersections, if needed in the future, would be implemented. The program would fully mitigate impacts at eight intersections (including the four intersections outside of the City) and partially mitigate impacts at two intersections. Feasible mitigations could not be developed at the remaining eight impacted intersections, all located within the City, due to right-of-way needs for proposed complete streets projects. The TIS also identified potential significant impacts to an additional five intersections due to the City's proposed Land Use Element Update. These impacts are not associated with the change to the MPAH; therefore, they are excluded from the MPAH amendment process.