The Capistrano Insider

Changes on the Toll Road Board of Directors?

Maybe, maybe not. But Tustin City Councilman Jerry Amante, a long ardent supporter of extending the Foothill Tollroad south, is facing a recall in his city over issues there.

Here's the report.

Mayor Sam Allevato represents San Juan on the TCA panel.

We're Having An Election, What About Those Cameras?

When the Capistrano City Council last discussed the red-light cameras at Del Obispo and Camino Cap and Del O and Ortega, it was suggested the city put the issue of whether to keep the camera cops before voters in an upcoming election.

Well, we're having an election -- the Distrito La Novia referendum on June 7, even though it doesn't look like the state will be joining us after all. But with that set, where's the discussion about red-light cameras?

The council left it with the sense that most folks don't like them and that it might be wise to just let the contract run its course, then do away with the systems. But our sampling on The Dispatch poll found folks really liked them.

So maybe a vote is necessary after all.

Meanwhile, this from the Associated Press, via Yahoo:

RIDGELAND, S.C. – As Interstate 95 sweeps past this small town along South Carolina's coastal plain, motorists encounter cameras that catch speeding cars, the only such devices on the open interstate for almost 2,000 miles from Canada to Miami.

The cameras have nabbed thousands of motorists, won accolades from highway safety advocates, attracted heated opposition from state lawmakers and sparked a federal court challenge.

Ridgeland Mayor Gary Hodges said the cameras in his town about 20 miles north of the Georgia line do what they are designed to do: slow people down, reduce accidents and, most importantly, save lives.

But lawmakers who want to unplug them argue the system is just a money-maker and amounts to unconstitutional selective law enforcement.

"We're absolutely shutting it down," said state Sen. Larry Grooms, chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee.

***

Speed cameras are used in 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The only other place with a camera on I-95 is in a Maryland work zone.

The cameras have sparked controversy in other places around the nation as well.

Last year, Arizona ended a two-year program with cameras on Phoenix-area expressways and other roads, in part because of perceptions they were being used to raise revenue.

But Cedar Rapids, Iowa, began using cameras last summer on busy I-380. Police there said during the first month of operation, violations dropped 62 percent.

***

Click here for the full story.

Murrieta Grapples With Red Light Cameras, Too: Money May Go To Charity

San Juan Capistrano's City Council is due to reconsider what to do about the two intersections covered by red-light cameras at  a future meeting, but the Riverside County city of Murrieta has it on tonight's agenda.

The council there might end its contract for the cameas at three intersections or, if the council takes the police recommendation, add them at other intersections. But one councilman suggests donating the money from the camera fines to charity.

That, he argues, would eliminate the public mistrust that the cameras are just money-machines.

Surprisingly, here in Capistrano, the unofficial poll on the The Capistrano Dispatch homepage found a clear majority of the public support the use of the cameras.

Here's the Riverside Press Enterprise story on the Murrieta debate.

241 Open Again -- Part of It, Anyhow

From TCA:

At 3 p.m. today the southbound lanes of the 241 Toll Road between the 261 Toll Road and the 133 Toll Road opened to traffic.  The northbound lanes in this five-mile stretch remain closed.  The impact of the rain predicted to start early Wednesday morning, Dec. 29, will have to be assessed before a schedule for opening the northbound lanes can be determined.

 The closure is due to mudslides that occurred during heavy rains on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at the Loma Ridge section of the 241 Toll Road, just south of the 261 Toll Road.  

All on- and off-ramps on the 133 Toll Road at Irvine Blvd. East are now open, allowing travelers in Irvine to access the northbound 133 to connect with the 241 Toll Road heading toward Foothill Ranch, Lake Forest and Rancho Santa Margarita.  The 133 Toll Road is open in both directions between I-5 and the 241 Toll Road. 

The Transportation Corridor Agencies (operator of The Toll Roads) and Caltrans (owner of The Toll Roads) continue to lower the slope adjacent to the roadway, dry out saturated soil and perform other necessary road work. 

 Northbound access to the 91 freeway:

• To the 91 freeway: The 261 Toll Road remains open in both directions.  Take the 261 northbound to the 241 northbound to the 91 freeway.

Hmmm...Why Didn't We Think of This?

From the Los Angeles Times:

Concerned about a proliferation of fast-food restaurants, the City Council on Wednesday voted to impose new limits on fast-food establishments across a broad swath of South Los Angeles.

Among other restrictions, the lawmakers voted to ban the opening of new fast-food concerns within a half-mile radius of similar eateries.

The council’s unanimous vote was the culmination of years of effort to bring greater dietary choice and an improved aesthetic to an area that suffers from both slapdash development and a high rate of diet-related health problems -- including obesity and diabetes -- that some researchers have linked to fast foods.

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Capistrano did, of course, put a moratorium on drive-through businesses for a while. With the change in the City Council, it will be interesting to see if In-N-Out Burger pops back up as a possible replacement for the closed Sizzler on Del Obispo Street.

Here's the entire LA Times story.

“For a community to thrive, it is important to have balance, a full variety of food, retail and service providers,” said Councilman Bernard C. Parks, who spearheaded the measure along with Councilwoman Jan Perry.