The results of the Scoping Summary and Alternatives Screening Report for the South County Traffic Relief Effort (SCTRE) Project recommend Alternative 22 Untolled – extending Los Patrones Parkway from Cow Camp Road to Avenida La Pata – for further consideration to provide significant traffic relief with minimal environmental and community impact.

The Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency (F/ETCA) Board of Directors will receive a presentation on the findings at their next Board Meeting on Thursday, March 12, 2020. The Board is expected to vote to adopt the report’s recommendations and direct staff to take the necessary steps to move forward with implementing the project.

“After a robust five-year public engagement effort, we are very happy we have a proposed solution that represents both the community’s input and technical analysis. The Los Patrones Parkway Extension will result in significant regional mobility improvements,” said F/ETCA Chairwoman and Irvine Mayor Christina Shea. “The Report also recommends that all other alternatives, including all routes that connect directly to I-5, be removed from consideration.”

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in partnership with the F/ETCA, kicked off SCTRE’s environmental review phase in November 2019. After two public meetings and a 94-day comment period, 1,650 comments were submitted to Caltrans by the close of the scoping period on February 10, 2020.

The results of the public input were analyzed and used to develop the screening criteria that considered whether an alternative met SCTRE’s Purpose and Need, and specific comments received were used to identify the amount of public opposition to an alternative. The screening criteria then quantified each alternative by the amount of congestion relief provided, overall cost and cost effectiveness, potential impacts to land uses, environmental justice communities and right-of-way.

“TCA has been working collaboratively with its transportation planning partners at the state, regional and local levels as well as with the public to determine if there is a need for a traffic relief solution in South Orange County, and, if so, what the solution might look like,” said Mike Kraman, CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies. “The results and recommendations from the Report recognize the critical roles that both public input and technical analysis play in successful transportation planning.”

Based on current traffic modeling and traffic projections, extending Los Patrones Parkway as an untolled County major thoroughfare from its southern terminus near Cow Camp Road to Avenida La Pata accomplishes TCA’s efforts to complete the southern extension of the 241 Toll Road as it transitions the tolled portion of the roadway into the regional arterial network, similar to the 261 Toll Road and Jamboree Road.

Click here (Opens in a new window) to view the F/ETCA Board Agenda. The F/ETCA Board is expected to vote to adopt the report’s recommendations and next steps at their regularly scheduled Board Meeting at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 12, 2020.

The Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA) are two joint powers authorities formed by the California legislature in 1986 to plan, finance, construct and operate Orange County’s public toll road system. Fifty-one miles of the system are complete, including the 73, 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads. TCA continues to meet the region’s growing need for congestion-free transportation alternatives.