Current Trends Discussion
We’re still growing very fast. The Southern California region will add two
cities the size of Chicago by 2035. The
transportation system will face new challenges
as a result of this growth.
We’re growing older. The number of residents over the age of 65
years old will double by 2035. Our
transportation system will need to respond to
the needs of a larger, older population.
Further, seniors typically want to live closer to
amenities, medical care, and social activities.
That is likely to impact demand for different
types of development and transportation
services.
We face a dearth of young workers Younger people who can fill jobs will be a hot
in the future due to demographic commodity in the future.
changes.
The working age population will grow very
slowly (five to 10 percent) in the coming years
due to long-term demographic trends.
Government finances are likely to be affected
by the demographic change.
How we build communities is Transit oriented development supported by a
important. robust bus, rail and road system is critical to
sustaining our economic growth and
responding to the demographic changes. In
addition, the quality of life provided by our
communities can be a determining factor in
the retention and attraction of younger
working populations. Legislative and
regulatory actions will require this type of new
development.
Trade growth will continue to Trade flows are expected to triple by 2020,
challenge our transportation system. with the overwhelming majority of this
increase occurring at the seaports. Orange
County’s major trade corridors (BNSF, SR-91,
and SR-57) will be impacted by this growth in
trade.
It remains an open question as to whether
future policies should anticipate increases in
trade flows (as public costs),
or be devoted to managing those flows (as
private costs).
Our planning must be integrated. Land use planning, transportation policies,
and transportation investments must be
coordinated to ensure effective delivery.
In addition, the integration of transportation
modes can help improve the efficiency of daily
commutes and provide more options to the
traveling public.
Innovative financing will play an Sole dependency on state and federal funds
increasingly important role. to improve, operate, and maintain the
transporation system is not a reality.
Transportation agencies will be more
dependent on locally derived funds, as well as
on partnerships with private entities.
We must ensure the sustainability of A sustainable transportation system should be
the transportation system. well maintained, efficient, and minimize
impacts.
Providing multimodal access to Providing the public with easy access to
major destinations is key. employment and shopping centers will help
make alternative travel options more attractive
(i.e. walking, biking, and transit).
We need to maximize the Transportation system management and
performance of our infrastructure. transportation demand management should
be explored to ensure we are achieving the
maximum performance from our infrastructure
investments.
Transit improvements must be Due to reduced revenues, future transit
selective and effective. improvements need to target high-demand
areas, in order to deliver the best bang-for-the-
buck.