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POLLS SHOW BOTH ORANGE COUNTY AND SAN DIEGO RESIDENTS SUPPORT COMPLETION OF 241 TOLL ROAD BY 2-1 MARGINS
78% in South Orange County say I-5 traffic gets worse every year
69% in San Diego say I-5 traffic makes them “stressful” or “nervous”
IRVINE, Calif. (September 19, 2008) – Two polls, one of 1,020 registered voters in Northern San Diego County and one of 757 registered voters in South Orange County, showed that a strong majority of the people living in communities closest to the project support an alternate route to the I-5 freeway in Orange County for congestion relief. In South Orange County both awareness of the project and support for the project is far higher than in San Diego, but in both counties supporters outnumber opponents by about a two-to-one margin.
In South Orange County where 84% are aware of the project, 58% support the completion of the 241 while 31% oppose it and only 10% are undecided. In Northern San Diego County where only a little over a third of the people are aware of the project, 39% support the completion of the 241, 15% oppose it and 46% are undecided.
“Orange County and San Diego residents who live closest to the project area are clearly united in their support for traffic relief alternatives including the completion of the 241 Toll Road,” said Jerry Amante, chairman of the Foothill/Eastern Transportation Corridor Agency, which is Orange County’s public transportation agency that is planning the project. “It is also compelling that when voters are given truthful information to counter false claims and bogus assertions by project opponents, support for completion of the 241 grows dramatically to nearly three to one in favor.”
About two-thirds of the respondents in South Orange County said they would increase their level of support for the project if they knew key information such as:
- The road will serve as an alternate route to I-5 for emergency vehicles and disaster evacuations
- San Onofre State Park will not lose any of its trails or campgrounds
- The trail, surfing and surf itself at Trestles will not be altered
- Endangered species and wildlife habitats will remain protected
Unfortunately, many of the well-funded activist groups who oppose this project have conducted a widespread disinformation campaign in an effort to garner opposition to this traffic relief project. When asked if the 241 extension would extend all the way to the beach in San Onofre State Park – a completely fabricated claim – more than half of the South Orange County residents believed that it would. When informed of the truth – that the road would connect to the I-5 a half-mile from the beach – 72% said that information would make them more likely to support the project.
By 8-1 margins, these Orange and San Diego voters believe traffic between the two counties is getting worse.
By 4-1 margins, Orange Countians believe alternate routes will relieve traffic and 83% of them believe it is possible to build new roads by being sensitive to the environment. And more than 6 out of 10 believe that South Orange County Toll roads – built by the TCA – are sensitive to the environment.
Both polls were conducted by Strata Research, an independent firm. Northern San Diego County respondents were registered voters in the 49th and 50th Congressional Districts. South Orange County respondents were registered voters in Orange County cities south of Irvine. Both studies measured respondents’ perspectives on traffic along I-5 between Orange and San Diego County, Orange County Toll Road Awareness and Attitudes, and what factors and conditions influence voters’ support of the 241. ABOUT COMPLETION OF THE 241
Extending the 241 will relieve traffic on Interstate 5 in South Orange County by providing an alternative route. With construction of the toll road, two miles of Interstate 5 will be retrofitted to collect and treat runoff, improving water quality in the Trestles area. Without the toll road, travel from the San Diego/Orange County border to Mission Viejo will take one hour in 2025. With the toll road constructed, the same drive on Interstate 5 will take 25 minutes and it will take 16 minutes on the toll road. The new road will provide an alternative to Interstate 5 for the hundreds of thousands of motorists a day who travel between San Diego, Orange and Los Angeles Counties.
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