Fixing South OC traffic

South Orange County has seen major population growth in the last two decades, and now transportation officials are trying to catch up with a $1.2 million study looking at ways to ease congestion on the Interstate 5 corridor, The Times' Dave Reyes reports:

The area, which includes unincorporated county territory and 14 cities, has undergone major changes during the last 20 years that have placed heavy demands on the freeway and transportation systems, said Kia Mortazavi, OCTA's executive director of development. Lured, among other things, by newer homes, wider streets and good schools, residents have rapidly moved to South County, creating cities such as Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo and Laguna Niguel and a population now exceeding half a million. In 1980, 205,000 lived there. By 2030, according to OCTA, the number of miles traveled on South County freeways is expected to have increased 45% from what it was in 2000.