OCTA will finish carpool connector Construction work...

OCTA will finish carpool connector

Construction work will start next month on the connector between

the San Diego and Costa Mesa freeway carpool lanes.

On Monday, the Orange County Transportation Authority decided it

couldn’t wait any longer for mediation to decide which entity would

pay for repairs on the connector.

So the agency decided to front the $2.5 million needed for

repairs.

The decision was based on the agency’s priority of finishing the

work by the end of the year, said Michael Litschi, an agency

spokesman.

For the past few months, the parties involved -- Caltrans and

three private firms -- have been participating in mediation to reach

an agreement to split the costs of the repair. So far, no resolution

has been reached.

The agency still holds out hope that the mediation process will

continue and be successful.

If not, the board also discussed Monday the possibility of

litigation, Litschi said.

New freeway offramp set to open next week

The new flyover” offramp to Fairview Road on the northbound Corona

del Mar Freeway is scheduled to open next week.

The offramp will take motorists from the northbound Corona del Mar

Freeway to Fairview Road, improving traffic flow and congestion on

the freeways bordering the city, as well as greatly eliminating

weaving and merging, said Sandra Friedman, public information officer

for Caltrans, in a letter to community and business leaders.

CenterLine future will be discussed Monday

The Orange County Transportation Authority will host a special

meeting on Monday to discuss the future of the CenterLine light rail

project.

The meeting will respond to an Irvine public vote in June in which

residents rejected the CenterLine route through their city. They did

leave open the option of light rail through Irvine in the future,

though.

A number of options will be discussed, including: advancing a

shortened initial operating segment of CenterLine that would run from

the depot at Santa Ana to John Wayne Airport; shifting efforts to

other rail, bus or road options; and dropping the CenterLine project

altogether.

The meeting is at 9 a.m. in Room 154 of the agency’s

administrative offices, at 600 S. Main St., Orange. For more

information, call (714) 560-6282.

Council will take a second look at issues

The Costa Mesa City Council will return to three items affecting

the zoning code and residential design guidelines at its Aug. 18

meeting.

On Monday, the council held a study session on three interrelated

issues of residential development: a zoning overlay proposal for an

Eastside neighborhood; view preservation for certain Westside

residential neighborhoods; and changes to the residential development

standards and review procedures in the zoning code, along with

changes to the residential design guidelines.

While the council will discuss these items individually on Aug.

18, ultimately they will all be folded into the zoning code and

residential design guidelines.

The study session allowed council members to ask questions of

staff to get a better handle on the issues.

One of the items some residents of the Marina Highlands tract took

issue with was the Planning Commission’s recommendation to put up

story poles to outline the corners and roof lines of proposed

second-story construction.

Councilwoman Libby Cowan said she thought envisioning the

second-story could better be accomplished by using a computer

instead.

Central Library to host youth science show

The Newport Beach Central Library will host a science show for

children entering the first through fifth grades.

The event, titled “A Radical Science Show,” will feature an

interactive session that will introduce scientific concepts to

children in the form of tricks and experiments.

The free show will take place at 10:30 a.m. July 28 at the main

library, at 3 p.m. July 30 at the Mariners branch and at 10:30 a.m.

July 31 at the Balboa branch.

For more information, call (949) 717-3816 or visit www.newportbeachlibrary.org.