OCTA District 5 Corridor H (Antonio/La Pata/Pico) Proposed Bikway Improvement

To provide some context of this cycling network deficiency, it is important to understand the Orange County Transport Authority (OCTA) has designated this section of road as part of District 5's Corridor H (Antonio/La Pata/Pico) Bikeways Network, and identified this section for bikeway improvement. This corridor runs diagonally from near the north boundary of District 5, to the Pacific Coast Highway (18 miles long), providing connections to state and local parks, Trabuco Mesa Elementary School, Santa Margarita Catholic High School, Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate School, Tijeras Creek Elementary School, Las Flores Middle School, Rancho Mission Viejo Horse Park, San Juan Hills High School, Vista Hermosa Sports Park, San Clemente High School, and the San Clemente Metrolink Station. In total, this corridor provides cyclists with access to 12 schools, and 15 parks within a 1/4 mile, serving approximately 41 thousand residents per 2015 estimates.

Zooming in to the Segment in Question

The section highlighted in this issue of Deficiency Publicity exists on Antonio, between Santa Margarita Parkway and Avenida de las Flores (Highlighted in Red), where there exists a Class III designation without signs indicating cyclist use. This stretch of road is adjacent to Trabuco Mesa Elementary School, Trabuco Mesa Park, and the Mercado Del Lago Shopping Center and has a designated road speed limit of 45 miles per hour when school is not in session and children are not present.

The preceding block of Antonio Parkway between Coto De Caza Drive and Santa Margarita Parkway has a posted speed limit of 50 miles per hour, and includes a Class II dedicated bike lane. There are no signs indicating cyclist road use in the transition between this dedicated bike lane, to the section of road lacking in bike lanes. In fact, the dedicated bike lane terminates for the purposes of on street parking, which introduces another road hazard to cyclists, in addition to unsafe nature of sharing a road with vehicles allowed to travel at 45 miles per hour.

Steps Taken to Date

As a representative of RSM Bike Safety, I've notified the city of this identified deficiency in the cycling network and have made attempts to get the gears turning towards progress. After the release of the 11th edition of the MUTCD, I suggested road sign additions to the city's acting city engineer that would indicate shared road usage with cyclists. These suggestions were declined:

"The traffic engineer and myself do not believe adding these additional signs will lead to increased bicyclist safety, and instead could lead to sign clutter, confusion, and increased maintenance costs without a significant return in benefit to the community including bicyclist."

Rancho Santa Margarita Acting City Engineer

Alternative Improvement Suggestion

While RSM Bike Safety disagrees with the reasons provided in declining the addition of shared use road signs, we wholeheartedly admit that we have a preference for dedicated bike lanes. Initially, under the guidance of city representatives, we thought the path of least resistance for public adoption would be the incorporation of street signs, it has now become apparent that a more impactful change incorporating dedicated bike lanes will be the path forward. We'd like to advocate for the assessment of incorporating dedicated bike lanes to this segment of road, as it will provide a much safer option for cyclists traveling this route on the bikeways network.

Identifying Challenges

This segment of road currently allows for on-street parking on both the northbound and southbound sides of the road that is utilized for residential, park, and elementary school parking. In addition, there is a designated student drop-off zone that is utilized by Trabuco Mesa Elementary School, which will need to be addressed. Furthermore, the costs of incorporating dedicated bike lanes will be a challenge that will also need to be addressed.

The Path Forward

As advocates of cyclist safety, here at RSM Bike Safety we believe it is necessary to build robust infrastructure to promote community cycling. We believe with public knowledge, and perception of the deficiencies in current infrastructure, we can gain traction towards promoting positive change. We encourage the public to get involved in city public input meetings, and especially the Circulation Element update to be discussed in 2024. The next meeting schedule has not been disclosed to date, however we will notify users of this site when updates are public. Thank you, and cycle safe!