Face the Problem

The Fair Housing Council isn’t the only group doing surveys these days. The Orange County Transportation Commission ordered one of its own in an attempt to focus on the public’s transportation attitudes.

Some of the results weren’t surprising: Residents prefer staggered or flexible working hours over car-pooling and riding the bus to ease traffic congestion. Adding more freeway lanes was the most popular long-range option; adding more car-pool lanes was the least.

One surprise was the public’s attitude toward traffic congestion in the county. Many people driving the freeways still believe, mistakenly, that Los Angeles has worse traffic tie-ups than Orange County. That’s not good news.

In seeking any solution, the very first step is to recognize that a problem exists. Until more county motorists do that, freeway problems will persist.