Riverside on the Road to Ruin With O.C.

A friendly heads-up to Riverside County transportation planners:

I see that you’ve asked Orange County for help this week in building a commuter highway through the Cleveland National Forest. If I read the paper correctly, you’d like Orange County to provide both financial and political assistance.

Tell me you were just being polite. Kind of a sister-county courtesy thing.

Tell me you have no intention of actually involving Orange County in any kind of major transportation project.

Not to be snide, but have you reviewed Orange County’s recent history on such jobs?

Did you ask it for references? If so, did you check those references?

If you have, and you still want Orange County on board, you’re either the most charitable bunch of transportation planners ever to lay a slab of concrete, or the most self-destructive.

Does the term “kiss of death” mean anything to you?

Other than providing that, I’m not sure what O.C. would bring to your planning table.

Maybe you’ve heard about the El Toro International Airport the county wants to build. In a few short years, the Board of Supervisors has gone from having a solid majority of county residents behind the airport to overwhelming opposition to it.

Have you seen Chuck Smith and Jim Silva work a room? Is that really the kind of political assistance you’re looking for?

If El Toro isn’t enough to scare you away, how about the San Joaquin Tollway experience?

Admittedly, our planners could give your project some know-how about slicing through wilderness areas. The San Joaquin cut a nice little chunk out of Laguna Canyon, but bondholders were assured the road was a great investment because it was needed to relieve traffic on I-5.

Now, with ridership far below projections and tolls rising, bondholders are more nervous than Larry Flynt in Sunday school.

Are you thinking that maybe Orange County officials could convince more investors to dive into a tollway project?

Don’t Ask Supervisors for Directions

Or, if you’re thinking freeway, are you picturing Orange County residents eager to help lessen the commutes of Riverside County residents?

Sounds just like something Orange County residents would love to do. Just let us know how much cash you need, and we’ll be there for you.

You Riverside folks can argue correctly that lots of those commuters work here and that we should pitch in with your residents’ hassles.

Which brings to mind the question I’d really like to ask, although it does seem a bit late given that you say your best option is building a road through a national forest.

Who was doing the commuter planning over the last 20 years as Riverside County development surged and Corona and Riverside and other locales became popular choices for L.A. and Orange County workers?

It’s not as though you’ve been caught off-guard. You realized, didn’t you, that people were moving into those new developments? I’ve lived in California for 14 years, and every time the newspapers have done stories on “monster” commutes, they’ve always gone looking for tales of woe in Riverside County.

So, what were you thinking?

You don’t want to hear that now. You’re probably looking for some optimism as you try to convince people that Cleveland National Forest could use a make-over.

You’ve tried toll lanes, and they haven’t worked. Just as in Orange County, people have made it clear they aren’t as thrilled with paying to drive as transportation planners thought they’d be.

At a time when the state doesn’t want to build highways and not enough private citizens want to pay to drive, I see your problem.

I don’t know the answer, which is why I’m limiting my advice to this:

Don’t ask Orange County officials for help.

They’ll only jinx you.

Dana Parsons’ column appears Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Readers may reach Parsons by calling (714) 966-7821 or by e-mail to dana.parsons@latimes.com