• Board Receives Update on OC Go Progress
• Upgrades Headed to Busy Bus Stops in Santa Ana
• Survey Demonstrates how COVID-19 has Affected Employment, Travel

The Orange County Transportation Authority’s board of directors received a progress report on Measure M, Orange County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation improvements, also known as OC Go.

Highlights from April to June include:

• The first of two carpool lanes in each direction of I-5 between SR-55 and SR-57 reopened to traffic as part of the I-5 Central County Improvements Project (all lanes have since been opened)
• The environmental phase of the SR-91 project between SR-55 and SR-57 was completed
• The first half of the Goldenwest Street and Bolsa Chica Road bridges opened to traffic as part of the I-405 Improvement Project
• The OCTA board awarded $23.4 million to improve and widen busy streets and intersections across Orange County, and $12.1 million to synchronize traffic signals

The OCTA board approved $1 million to improve 35 busy bus stops in Santa Ana.

The upgrades are part of the Measure M Safe Transit Stops program, which provides funding for passenger amenities at the 100 busiest bus stops in Orange County.

Upgrades to the bus stops in Santa Ana will include replacing aging shade structures, adding benches and making other necessary repairs.

The program’s first call for projects occurred in 2014 and resulted in bus stop amenity and safety improvements at 43 of the busiest bus stops in Orange County. Last year, the OCTA board also approved nearly $1 million to improve an additional 37 bus stops across the county.

The OCTA board received the results of a survey designed to understand the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on employment and travel in Orange County and help inform future transportation planning efforts.

More than 2,500 randomly-selected adults living in Orange County participated in the scientific survey that was conducted by True North Research in July. The study focused on identifying how the experience of the last several months may have a lasting effect on public attitudes, work arrangements and travel behaviors in ways that are relevant to OCTA’s mission to develop an integrated and balanced transportation system that supports the county’s diverse travel needs.

Key findings include:

• Employees working remotely at least one day per week increased from 23 percent in February to 61 percent in June
• Average days working remotely per week increased from 0.76 in February to 2.52 in June
• The percentage of employees who typically drive alone to work decreased from 77 percent in February to 47 percent in June
• Use of carpool, vanpool, active transportation and public transit for work commutes was cut in half
• Once the pandemic is over, about half of employees prefer to maintain or increase the number of days they work remotely