Local News in Brief : Countywide : OCTD Approves Budget, Plans Car-Pool Lanes

The Orange County Transit District’s board of directors Monday approved a 1988-89 operating budget of $87 million, a 5% increase over its current $82-million budget.

The biggest change in the approved budget over the current one is spending on car- and van-pool lanes along congested county freeways. There were no public comments opposing the budget at the OCTD board’s regular meeting Monday.

The district will spend nearly $38 million over the next year on projects to design and widen stretches along the Santa Ana and Costa Mesa freeways for the car and van lanes. That money is in addition to operating-budget spending.

This marks the first time that the district has tapped a special $200-million reserve, originally scheduled for light-rail projects, since the reserve began accumulating 10 years ago.