City gets green light for Go Local
The city is one step closer to seeing an Aliso Viejo shuttle service come to fruition.
“The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors approved our Go Local study as part of phase 1 of the project,” Mayor Pro Tem Phillip Tsunoda said Wednesday, while complimenting staff for its hard work in getting a unanimous board vote.
The board’s approval paves the way for the city to move into step two of the Go Local program.
The shuttle service would transport people from major City employment hubs to Town Center and the Metrolink station in Laguna Niguel. It could also link riders to other nearby desirable hubs. The project, which is funded through a “Go Local” grant from OCTA, is meant to ease traffic in town and encourage commuters to use public transit.
The Go Local program is a process to plan and implement city-initiated transit extensions to OCTA’s Metrolink commuter rail line. The Metrolink rail line is the backbone of transit in Orange County. Two-thirds of Orange County’s population and jobs are within a four-mile radius of each of the county’s 11 Metrolink stations, according to OCTA. Because of this proximity of potential commuter rail users, OCTA plans to increase Metrolink service.
The second phase consists of cities competing for additional funding to further develop the most promising projects. Proposed projects will be evaluated against certain criteria. In the near future, the City Council will make a decision about moving forward with step two of the process.
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