Item 12 - Select Locally Preferred Alternative for the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study

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Attachment 4 OCTA MEMO March 13, 2026 To: Mike Arizabel, Public Works Agency, City of Santa Ana From: Charles Main, Section Manager— Transit Service Planning Subject: OCTA Recommendations — First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study Thank you for collaborating with the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) on the development of the First Street Multimodal Boulevard Study in the City of Santa Ana. First Street is a key transportation corridor and includes OC Bus Route 64, one of OCTA's busiest routes, operating at 12-15 minute weekday frequencies. Multimodal improvements along First Street would enhance transit access through dedicated bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, as well as transit priority treatments to improve speed and reliability. Traffic calming enhancements would also improve safety for all modes of travel. OCTA has reviewed the three conceptual alternatives and provides the following recommendations for consideration: Option #1: Six General Purpose Lanes with a Shared Pedestrian/Bicycle Path in One Direction OCTA recommends incorporating transit priority treatments identified in OCTA's Transit Optimization Study, including queue jumps and bypass lanes, bus bulbs and floating islands, stop consolidation, relocating stops to the far side of intersections, and converting bus pull-outs to in-lane stops. A full list of transit priority treatments, including locations, benefits, and costs, is provided in Attachment A. Option #2: Five General Purpose Lanes with a Sidewalk and Separated Bikeway in Both Directions OCTA supports applying the Transit Optimization Study recommendations noted under Option #1. In addition, OCTA suggests avoiding dedicated bus pull-outs, as buses using pull-outs must merge in and out of traffic, introducing variability into travel times and reducing reliability.