Proposed Toll Lanes On 405 Freeway In OC Remains Hot-Button Issue
ORANGE (CBSLA.com) — A proposal to add toll lanes on the 405 Freeway in Orange County continues to be a hot-button issue.
The Orange County Transportation Authority Board Of Directors is scheduled to vote Friday on the Caltrans-backed plan, which would add toll lanes on the 405 between SR-55 at Costa Mesa and the 605 Freeway at the Los Angeles County border.
If approved, construction would begin in 2015 and is estimated to last up to five years.
During a public hearing Monday at OCTA headquarters, Lucy Dunn of the Orange County Business Council told a planning committee that we know toll lanes are successful because of recent experience on the 110 Freeway in Los Angeles.
Toll Lanes On 405 Freeway In OC Remains Hot Button Issue
"By implementing the toll lanes, a recent study came out that shows that the free lanes have increased speeds," she said.
Fountain Valley City Councilman John Collins, however, was skeptical of the idea.
"I don't think it's going to improve the traffic at all. They're going to take an HOV lane, do away with it, so they have two toll lanes, no HOV lane and another lane," he said.
Collins added that tolls lanes would also be a betrayal of voters.
"M2 [Measure M] was to fund transportation of improvements. Tolling was never a consideration here," he said.
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OC Residents, Public Officials To Debate Toll Lanes On 405 Freeway
