Agenda - 06-04-1981 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-7-, .i: '-',. 2.6 TRANSPORTATION ,.. f-: GamAL, FRAMEWORK While providing a vital service function, the means and manner by which people and goods are transported influences the physical development pattern throughout Orange County. Areas which are served by the most convenient transportation access are the most appropriate locations 77 for centers of employment, leisure activities, schools, services and commercial and industrial activity. Residents of the County require ,,..- an adequate transportation network to insure convenient and safe access to such activities and, generally, their locational decisions are in- fluenced by such transportation related factors. The primary means of transportation in the County is the road system. The system serves two main functions: traffic movement and Land ser- vice. Given the potential incompatibility of these two functions efforts should be directed at balancing the two functions through an i integrated, well-designed road system. This requires consideration of the location and distribution of the population; the intensity and spatial distribution of land uses and their potention for traffic gen- eration; and the economic character of the County. '. The relationship between residential and commercial uses and the ade- ;- quacy of the road system is particularly important as the system in- k tegrates and links such uses, providing access between homes and the ir goods and services needed and demanded by County residents. However, the adequacy of the road system can be determined from two perspectives. The individual county resident evaluates the system on the basis of user objectives such as speed, convenience, safety and cost. In broader terms, the system is evaluated on the basis of its impact on the econo- mic growth potential and the general ambience or environmental character of the County. It is clearly important that neither of these two factors f- can be excluded in the provision of transportation services for Orange County as they are interrelated and interconnected elements. DESCRIPTION OF THE ROAD NETWORK IN ORANGE COUNTY Orange County contains a relatively adequate network. Major population and employment centers are linked throughout most areas of the County. The presence of a widespread state-maintained rural highway system has significantly "opened up" the rural areas of the County for residential development. Subsequently, residential pressures in these rural areas have created additional pressures and demands for commercial development serving the needs of the residents. The road network in Orange County is focused on the urban and urbanized areas of the County as evidenced in the Highway Classification System Map, 41