40% slower traffic coming?

Check out details of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's master plan here.

Here are two interesting stats from KNBC:

— If the projects outlined in the plan are not implemented, average traffic speeds throughout the county would decrease by 40% by 2030, said Carol Inge, the MTA's chief planning officer.

— According to MTA statistics, there are more than 7 million vehicles on the road in the county today, and the county's population is expected to grow by 2.4 million by 2030.

The MTA is having a bunch of public meetings on the plan:

March 26: 6:30 p.m. Westside Cities, Plummer Park, 7377 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90046

March 27: 6:30 p.m. Central Los Angeles, Metro Headquarters, 1 Gateway Plaza, Board Room, Third Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90012

April 3: 6 p.m. South Bay Cities, Carson Community Center, Room 107, 801 E. Carson St., Carson, CA 90745

April 8: 6 p.m. San Gabriel Valley, Potrero Heights Elementary School, 8026 E. Hill Drive, Rosemead, CA 91770

April 10: 6 p.m. Gateway Cities, Progress Park Plaza West, 15500 Downey Ave., Paramount, CA 90723

April 22: 6:30 p.m. North Los Angeles County, Larry Chimbole Cultural Center, Lilac Room, First Floor, 38350 Sierra Highway, Palmdale, CA 93550

April 23: 6 p.m. San Fernando Valley, Marvin Braude Constituent Service Center, Room 1B, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd., Van Nuys, CA 91401

Widening the 91?

The 91 Freeway through the Santa Ana Canyon area is one of Southern California's worst commutes. But now the Orange County Register is reporting that a major widening project could be in the offing:

Orange County could collect nearly $218 million to widen the 91 freeway and improve several rail crossings under a state program intended to offset the impacts of increasing port traffic.

The California Transportation Commission will decide in April how to divvy up some $3 billion in bond money approved by voters in 2006. A funding recommendation released by the commission this week includes eight Orange County projects.

One of those projects would add a westbound lane to the 91 Freeway, between the 5 and 57 freeways. The other projects involve building railroad under- or over-crossings at busy intersections, so that trains can pass through without stopping traffic.

$11 billion and counting ...

Q: How much do traffic accidents cost us? The Daily Breeze has the answer:

Traffic crashes in the Los Angeles/Orange County region cost nearly $11 billion annually — more than the price tag associated with traffic congestion, according to a study released Wednesday.

According to the study — conducted on behalf of the American Automobile Association by the transportation policy firm Cambridge Systematics — traffic congestion costs the Los Angeles/Orange county region $9.3 billion annually, while traffic crashes cost $10.85 billion.

The price tag of auto accidents includes police, medical and emergency services, property damage, lost productivity and general "reduced quality of life," according to AAA.

"The study clearly demonstrates that both traffic safety and traffic congestion are a tremendous challenge to Southern California in terms of out-of-pocket costs and reduced quality of life," said Alice Bisno, the Automobile Club of Southern California's vice president for public affairs.

MTA has a plan.... But does it have the money?

The latest version of its long-range plan was released by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Tuesday, with the agency calling for a plethora of road and rail projects to be built by 2030, the alternative being a severe decline in road speeds.

The blueprint calls for the continued construction of more carpool lanes on freeways where they don’t yet exist, as well as the completion of the Expo light rail line to Santa Monica and either a busway or light rail line along Crenshaw Boulevard in South Los Angeles.

Also called for in the plan are a number of projects that require $60 billion in funding. Among these are the closure of the 710 freeway gap between Pasadena and Alhambra, a subway extension to Santa Monica and a light rail line in downtown Los Angeles that would link existing and future lines.

The MTA board is expected to vote to adopt the plan in June. The complete plan can be viewed online.

— Steve Hymon

Help here for the 210

Traffic signals at two interchanges along the Foothill (210) Freeway will start operating today. The idea is to smooth the flow of traffic, according to Caltrans.

Starting about 5 a.m., the signals — with traditional red, yellow and green lights — will start operating on connector roads from the northbound Orange (57) Freeway to the westbound Foothill (210) Freeway and from the northbound San Gabriel River (605) Freeway to the westbound 210 Freeway. Two flashing beacon signs will warn motorists to slow down before reaching the signals.

By the end of the month, traffic signals will be added to the transition roads leading to the eastbound 210 Freeway. More meters are scheduled to be installed along the 210 in early May.

— City News Service

Traffic alert: 105 problems

The connector road from the westbound Glenn Anderson (105) Freeway to the southbound San Diego (405) Freeway will close for five hours daily this week for a roadway repair project, Caltrans reported. The closure will be in effect from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. today through Friday, Caltrans reported. Peterson Chase Co. is the contractor on the $1-million project.

— City News Service

New train in town

Big day for San Diego mass transit: the debut of a new commuter rail line called Sprinter, as reported by the San Diego Union-Tribune:

Seventy people rode into history yesterday aboard the inaugural run of the Sprinter, the new passenger train that connects Oceanside and Escondido.

Passengers applauded as the first train pulled away from the platform at the Escondido station at 4:33 a.m., and applauded again when it completed its round trip about two hours later.

So many people turned out on the Sprinter's first day that by noon the trains were 20 minutes behind schedule, and the North County Transit District added an extra train to keep up with the crowds. By midday the two trains were filled to the 450-person capacity and a third train was put into service, said Sarah Benson, a district marketing representative.

“It seems like every train is crowded,” said transit district spokesman Tom Kelleher.

Sprinter is supposed to provide "east-west" mobility for San Diego County (most trains now go north-south).