Looking for less controversial option to 241 extension, Supervisor Lisa Bartlett floats Los Patrones Parkway alternative
Supervisor Lisa Bartlett has introduced a ninth option to a toll agency’s proposals for addressing traffic in south Orange County: Extending Los Patrones Parkway to Avenida La Pata, connecting south of the Prima Deshecha Landfill.
“We looked into studying an alternative that has no impacts to existing homes, businesses and public infrastructure,” Bartlett’s Chief of Staff Victor Cao said.
The Transportation Corridor Agencies – which oversees the county’s toll roads – is looking at eight options for improving traffic in the region. But each option has faced some resistance, with San Clemente residents especially protesting connecting the 241 to the I-5 at Avenida Pico.
Los Patrones Parkway is expected to extend to Cow Camp Road by late this year after years of planning. Bartlett’s suggestion would keep the road going south.
Bartlett’s alternative resembles the eighth, “hybrid” option proposed by the TCA in February. But that “hybrid” includes building restricted-use carpool/toll lanes on I-5, as well as connecting Los Patrones Parkway and Avenida La Pata closer to San Juan Hills High.
Some officials in south county have reacted favorably to Bartlett’s proposal.
“There’s a lot of logic to it,” San Juan Capistrano Councilman Brian Maryott said. He represents the city on the TCA’s board.
He was concerned about potential ramps at Ortega Highway, saying he questions whether those would be feasible or practical.
Councilwoman Kathy Ward, representing San Clemente on the board, said in an e-mail statement: “It could be an option that our City Council would be in favor of, but only if all other options are taken off the table and our city is made an avoidance zone.” She said San Clemente officials had not yet decided on an official city opinion.
But some San Clemente activists questioned whether this option would ultimately lead to Los Patrones Parkway being converted to a toll road to be managed by the TCA, which Cao acknowledged as a possibility.
“A conversion of a free Los Patrones constitutes a private taking of a publicly owned asset,” San Clemente resident Michelle Schumacher said. “The TCA is a failed agency with broken promises and broken trust.”
The county Board of Supervisors will officially vote Dec. 4 on whether to submit Bartlett’s option to the TCA for consider.
Mike Kraman, CEO of the TCA, said in a statement the agency is prepared to consider it.
Cao said Bartlett’s proposal would cost around $130 million, using the cost for the La Pata extension as context.