Rossmoor to Stage Rally Against 405 Toll Lanes Monday

Rossmoor community leaders are inviting anyone against plans to add toll lanes to the 405 to come out and voice their opposition before the proposal is approved.

In a show of force against a proposal to add toll lanes to the 405 Freeway, Rossmoor community leaders are staging an anti-toll road rally Monday.
It’s the last day for the public to comment on a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report on the project, and many see it as a last chance to show the Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans just how unpopular the proposal is.

“What we are doing is trying to give the community a chance to express themselves, and so that OCTA can see that a lot of people are upset about that,” said Rossmoor Community Services General Manager Chris Montana.
The toll road was widely believed to be a dead issue in October when the OCTA board voted overwhelmingly against it amid outcry from city leaders in Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Rossmoor, Westminster, and Costa Mesa. At the time, OCTA named Alternative 1 as the locally preferred option. Alternative 1 would add one general-purpose lane to each side of the freeway
But turnover on the board helped to revive the proposal this year.
When OCTA introduced two additional alternative measures, titled as concepts ‘a’ and ‘b' at an Apr. 22 meeting, Rossmoor residents reacted with disapproval that the new measures would add HOT lanes.
“There are two additional concepts that are being looked at,” said Joel Zlotnik, spokesman for OCTA. “Those were two options the OCTA staff directed for them to explore.”
“There has not been a decision made as to which alternative will be used for the project,” added Zlotnik.

If the board chooses to pursue the HOT lanes proposal, additional studies on it s impact would have to be done. The public will have ample opportunity to provide input on the project, Zlotnik said.
August 12 represents the last day for public comment on a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) that was produced after the original draft for the project due to allegations by the city of Long Beach that OCTA had inadequately assessed the impact on traffic in the streets of their city.
 “That only looks at the impact of traffic on the streets in Long Beach,” Zlotnik said. “So that, is what we are seeking comments on, and that has the Aug. 12 deadline.”
Zlotnik said the public comment period for the general project EIR project has closed.
But Montanna says they have decided to hold the rally because they feel as though they missed an opportunity to provide feedback because the July 24 date came before the board had a chance to meet, discuss and organize their reaction to the new proposed concepts this spring.
“We actually asked for an extension, which is why we are having the meeting too because our board meets too late,” said Montana. “We asked, in writing, to officially extend our deadline for our response by two days, and they denied it.”
Citizens of neighboring communities of Rossmoor are invited to attend the No Toll Road Rally, this Monday, Aug. 12, from 6-8 p.m. in Rush Park.
Montana said the rally would consist of “mainly listening to the residents and having them sign that they are opposed.”
Those who are unable to attend may sign their opposition electronically, at http://www.change.org/petitions/caltrans-and-octa-remove-toll-roads-again-from-consideration-in-the-i-405-freeway-improvement-project.