Ask any driver in the Santa Clarita Valley what they consider the worse road in town is and you are bound to hear a variety of names: Soledad and Sierra Highway, Bouquet Canyon intersection, Valencia Boulevard and Magic Mountain Parkway or any road currently under construction.

Our valley has a multitude of impediments (mountains, rivers, etc.) which makes a grid-like street configuration, much like the San Fernando Valley, impossible. Added to that mix is the valley-wide habit of changing a street name once you cross from one part of the city to the next (i.e. Valencia Boulevard to Soledad Canyon Road).

Roads and commuter traffic have been the number one-concern of residents since the city began asking.

"It is definitely a top priority," said Mayor Marsha McLean. "When we became a city 20 years ago, we started to play catch-up. We understood the deficit in our infrastructure."

McLean said the number of cars on the road and the lack of alternative transportation can play havoc on the streets. "People have to get around town during rush hour and it is difficult," she said. "Quite frankly, however, I would rather have to deal with our traffic than that in the San Fernando Valley."

"Stations will be located along a 108-mile route, including one in Santa Clarita. Vehicles would travel 120 MILES PER HOUR or more and residents would be able to get to downtown Los Angeles in as little as 15 minutes."

The recent fires in Canyon Country and the truck accident on Interstate 5 put the city through its paces as traffic was diverted onto community streets. City officials monitor traffic patterns on the second floor at City Hall and are able to change signal lights to get people moving. "Traffic was bad, but we did the best with what we had," McLean said. "We have made huge improvements as far as signal synchronization."

Nothing is probably worse than traffic around the schools. Parents either view the streets to be unsafe for their child to walk or are dropping their children at school as they head off to work. The streets surrounding school sites tend to be congested and dangerous as children dodge in between cars or across streets to reach campus.

With backing from the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's station, school districts began implementing a Student Valet Program. This program uses fifth- and sixth-grade students as valets who open car doors for arriving students in specially-marked valet areas. The drop off area allows 10 to 15 cars at a time to enter, drop off and leave in as little as 55 seconds. Fourth grade students assist by walking younger students to classrooms or line-up areas, saving the parents the trouble of looking for a place to park and escort their child onto the campus.

"The system really works," said Sabrina Utter, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Council PTA. "The sheriff's department trains the students about responsibility and safety. It's so good for them. The PTA, of course, supports this program."

Utter said she hopes school officials can come up with another plan for afternoon traffic which can congest streets around the school as parents wait for the dismissal bell. "We need to keep drivers off cell phones and pay attention to the controlled chaos around them and keep everybody safe," she said.

The City of Santa Clarita, in cooperation with four school districts, established a citywide Route to School plan that can be used by students, parents and teachers. The plan helps educate school-age children on how to reach school as safely as possible while helping the city identify where students may be concentrated. The routes are updated yearly and take into account railroad crossing and high-volume streets. Parents can get a copy of these routes at the school office.

New roads and improvements to the old ones are on-going projects. Slurry seal and overlays are currently in the works as well as median landscaping and signal modifications. Widening of the Interstate 5-Magic Mountain interchange should be complete next year and the city is looking for funds to complete the Cross Valley Connector, which will allow traffic to come across the valley from Highway 14 to Interstate 5 and Highway 126.

McLean, who is the Santa Clarita representative on the Southern California Association of Governments Transportation and Communication Committee, said she has been attending several workshops that deal with the California freeway system and alternative means of transit.

Unfortunately, McLean said, the focus is always on roads and she would like to see state and federal officials committed to alternative transportation methods such as the Orangeline High-Speed Maglev - a magnetic elevated system that provides high-speed service between Irvine and Palmdale.

Stations will be located along a 108-mile route, including one in Santa Clarita. Vehicles would travel 120 miles per hour or more and residents would be able to get to downtown Los Angeles in as little as 15 minutes. To date, Phase 1 engineering plans have been completed and work has began on the Environmental Impact Report.

"We need a whole network of things to get us out of this quagmire," she said. "The big picture is complex because it takes commitment from government and the willingness to fund these alternatives. I think our legislators need a lot more information."