OCTA tells Fountain Valley council the Garfield/Geisler bridge is not needed; council presses for mitigation and monitoring

At a May 6 study session, Rose Casey, OCTA executive director of planning, told the Fountain Valley City Council the agency’s recent reevaluation — validated by a third‑party peer review — concluded the Garfield/Geisler bridge “is not needed to meet future traffic demands” and that additional analysis is not warranted. The finding follows a 2006 memorandum of understanding among Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa and Huntington Beach that identified 10 intersection improvements (three in Fountain Valley) and other operational measures intended to maintain traffic operations without the bridge.

The OCTA presentation walked council through nearly two decades of coordination, explained that the 2006 MOU commitments have been substantially implemented, and said traffic performance on analyzed local segments is forecast to meet acceptable levels of service through 2050. Casey also said OCTA intends, as an offer of good faith, to fund a follow‑up study of the Euclid/Ellis/405 southbound ramp intersection in about five years to verify performance.

Councilmembers voiced mixed reactions. Councilmember Harper, who represents the city on the OCTA board, said the agency’s updated modeling and the 405 improvement project justified the re‑evaluation and supported removing the bridge from the Master Plan of Arterial Highways. By contrast, Councilmember Grandes, who requested the item be pulled for local review, said Fountain Valley residents still bear heavy traffic burdens at Talbot and Ellis and pressed OCTA for mitigation funding and near‑term operational improvements — signal synchronization, ramp metering and other measures — to address current wear and tear on city streets.

Former Mayor Ben Nielsen, who said he’s been involved on this issue since the late 1970s, questioned long‑range model projections and asked for “real counts” of existing traffic rather than only consultant forecasts. Public commenter Katie Wright urged caution, citing a past incident in which a school crossing guard was struck and expressing distrust of pandemic‑era traffic studies.

OCTA staff responded that the recent analysis used updated population forecasts from the Cal State Fullerton Center for Demographic Research and county planning bodies, and that some planned MOU improvements were determined by city staff to be unnecessary as conditions changed. OCTA officials emphasized they will monitor the system and revisit the MPAH reservation if the three MOU cities request re‑inclusion, and noted larger projects such as bridge construction would require land acquisition and long lead times.

Councilmembers asked staff to continue collaborating with OCTA and to return with follow‑up information, including a list of short‑term operational mitigation measures and a clearer picture of any budget support OCTA can provide if the bridge is removed from the master plan. The study session was informational; no binding council vote on the MPAH removal occurred at the May 6 meeting.