August 15, 2023
Mr. Frank Sun
Assistant Public Works Director/City Engineer
City of Orange
300 East Chapman Avenue
Orange, CA 92866
Subject: Proposed Katella Avenue Eastbound Lane between State Route 55 and Wanda Road
Dear Mr. Sun:
This letter is in response to the City of Orange’s (City) request for a letter regarding the proposed new eastbound lane on Katella Avenue between State Route 55 (SR-55) and Wanda Road in relation to the Master Plan of Arterial Highways (MPAH). The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) maintains the administration of the MPAH to encourage coordinated transportation planning between local jurisdictions as well as to help accommodate future growth and travel demand. Consistency with the MPAH is essential to the integrity of a functional regional roadway network.
The City is proposing to add a third eastbound travel lane on Katella Avenue between SR-55 and Wanda Road. The MPAH clas sification for this segment is a major (six-lane, divided) arterial. Based on the count data from April 2022, traffic volumes for the Katella Avenue segment between the SR-55 and Handy Street show approximately 43,000 daily vehicles. This segment is a five-lane asymmetric divided facility with two lanes eastbound and three lanes westbound and has a current traffic level of service “ E”. Traffic volumes on Katella Avenue, between Handy Street and Wanda Road show approximately 47,000 daily vehicle s. This segment is four-lane divided facility and has a current traffic level of service “F”. Future traffic growth would further degrade the level of service in both these locations . The addition of a third eastbound lane increases the capacity on Katella Avenue, which will better accommodate existing and future traffic demand. It should be noted that the MPAH guidelines do not dictate the timing of future MPAH improvements; the timing of those improvements is at the discretion of each individual city. No further action is required by OCTA g iven that t he proposed improvement is consistent with the MPAH guidelines.
If you have any questions, please contact Ivy Hang, Senior Transportation Analyst, at 714/560-5684 or [email protected]. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kurt Brotcke,
Director, Strategic Planning
KB:cl