Quality of Life in 'Go California'

Governor Schwarzenegger’s ‘Go California’ plan to revive transportation projects in our state is critical to California’s prosperity. Without transportation improvements in the immediate future, our state will suffer from increased congestion, longer commutes, and less viable options for California businesses.

We are fortunate. California is a beautiful place to live. In no other state do you have 1,100 miles of coastline, two chains of pristine mountains, thriving agriculture, and the driest desert in North America. In its diversity, California offers beautiful beaches, grand valleys, colossal forests, rich history, robust industry, and is the center of most high-tech advancements in the world.

It is no wonder people want to live in California.

One important and often overlooked component of quality of life, however, is our ability to go where we want to go. As commute times increase, we are more and more often finding ourselves sitting in traffic on congested roads and highways. As people seek affordable housing in new communities, they are forced to rely upon the same roads and highways that have existed for decades.

In 2002, the people of California decided that they had had enough with our overcrowded roads and highways. They passed Proposition 42, the Transportation Congestion Improvement Act, mandating that revenue generated from the sale of gasoline be spent on transportation projects.

This year, the Governor stepped-up his ‘Go California’ plan by proposing new infrastructure bonds. He has been committed to finding new and creative ways of funding new roads and highways in an attempt to ease our congestion problems. One method that Governor Schwarzenegger has identified is public-private partnerships, specifically toll roads.

The advantage of toll roads is that they quickly create new highways funded by users until the cost of the highway is paid. At that time, the toll is eliminated, and the road becomes a freeway.

For areas such as Orange County that experience heavy traffic congestion, toll roads are an immediate and viable solution to the problem. They relieve bottlenecks on our state’s main highways as they create a more direct and alternative route for many commuters.

In Orange County alone, we have already built 51 miles of a 67-mile system of toll roads that have served to relieve much of the congestion on our freeways. The final 16 miles that completes the toll road system is Foothill-South, the last stretch of road to be completed on the 241. Upon completion, Foothill-South will connect northern Orange County and Riverside County to southern Orange County and San Diego County. Commuters who were once forced to travel through the heart of Orange County to get from Riverside to San Diego will soon be able to travel a more direct route to their destination—bypassing central Orange County’s congested freeways.

Providing additional routes alleviates congestion on all surrounding roads and highways and gives commuters more choices, reducing the amount of time spent in their cars. Toll roads are not the entire answer to our traffic congestion, but they are a critical component.

California is truly a wonderful place to live and the Governor’s “Go California” plan will help to keep it that way.