Kristopher Fortin
Streetsblog California contributor, covering news in Orange County.
Recent Posts
Santa Ana Active Streets Is Building an Equity-Centered, Resident-Led Transportation Coalition
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A short history of the founding of SAAS and what makes it distinct from transportation advocacy groups in other parts of the country, including some guiding principles that helped form the coalition.
Q&A: Strong Towns at Today’s Orange County Transportation Forum
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An interview with Chuck Marohn of Strong Towns about some of California's most pressing issues around growth and development--as well as some of the promising solutions coming out of Santa Ana.
Santa Ana is Having a Roundabout Renaissance
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The City of Santa Ana public works department has been busy the first half of the year installing street improvements on the city's west side. Between March until roughly last month, nine roundabouts were installed along three street corridors.
OC Bike to Work Day Showcases Santa Ana Bike Infrastructure Successes
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Caltrans hosted its own Bike to Work Day in Santa Ana to showcase some of the work it's doing to improve biking infrastructure in downtown.
OCTA Budget Outlook: Balanced, But Problems Loom
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Money from S.B.1 will allow OCTA to avoid deep service cuts on it buses, but if ridership continues decreasing, there will be hard choices to make in the future.
High-Speed Rail Authority Discusses Routes from L.A. to Anaheim
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California high-speed rail proposes to use the existing rail alignment between L.A.'s Union Station and ARTIC in Anaheim. That will require some modifications, including a number of grade separations.
15,000+ Bicyclists, Pedestrians Come Out to Garden Grove’s 3rd Open Streets Event
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More than 15,000 people came out to bike and walk in Garden Grove's Open Streets event on Saturday. The 2.5-mile route stretched from Main Street to West Street and had some streets closed to cars, streets with mixed traffic, and a one-mile pop-up protected bike lane.
Bus Rapid Transit? More Streetcar? OCTA Considers What’s Best for Major Transit Corridor
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The Orange County Transportation Authority is studying twelve different transit options, including Bus Rapid Transit and a streetcar, for the highest-transit-use corridor in the county.
Cognitive Dissonance : OCTA Hikes Fares for Buses, Awards $1.2 Billion for Freeway Widening
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In the next couple months, construction will begin on the widening of the I-405 between State Route 73 and the I-605. OCTA approved a contract at its November Board of Directors meeting for $1.2 billion to add two toll lanes and improve to entrances, exits and bridges. The total project cost is around $1.9 billion.
Community Land Trust Seeks to Revitalize Vacant Lots in Santa Ana
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Thrive Santa Ana hopes to turn vacant city-owned lots into affordable housing, community gardens, recreational space, economic incubators
Equity Concerns Fall on Deaf Ears at OC Active Transportation Forum
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A question from Marina Ramirez, a Santa Ana resident and member of Santa Ana Active Streets Coalition, put Darrell Johnson on the defensive. She asked the panel what is being done to address displacement from active transportation (AT) improvements, and added a followup question: OCTA has an AT checklist, she said; why not add an equity checklist?
‘That Time Is Past’: Santa Ana’s Bold Plan to Eliminate Traffic Collisions
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The Safe Mobility Santa Ana Plan was released earlier this month with very little fanfare, yet it may be the planning document that will possibly have the biggest impact on the city’s streets for years to come. The plan identifies 42 high-priority projects–37 corridors and five intersections–that would take an estimated $40 million to complete. But […]