Free trolley service continues in Laguna Beach
Free trolleys are continuing to move through Laguna Beach neighborhoods, though at reduced hours compared to the city’s experimental summertime transportation program.
As of Oct. 31, hours for trolley service in the Arch Beach Heights, Bluebird Canyon and Top of the World neighborhoods are 6:50 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9:50 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays, according to the city’s website.
There is no Sunday service.
Trolleys run every hour compared with every 30 minutes as they did in the summer, when the city debuted the pilot program to examine demand for trolleys for additional areas of Laguna other than South Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road.
Trolleys operated until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer, though now have returned to hours that mimic those of the city’s mainline bus system, which the trolleys replaced in three neighborhoods.
City staff have said trolleys offer greater flexibility because riders can flag them down instead of waiting at fixed stops.
The neighborhood trolley program was supposed to end Labor Day, but the council unanimously voted in late August to extend the service into the fall to more fully gauge its popularity.
The residential service is separate from the off-season weekend trolley program, which covers stops along North and South Coast Highway from Labor Day through the third week of June.
In the summer, trolleys run daily on North and South Coast Highway and along Laguna Canyon Road, ferrying visitors to the city’s acclaimed art festivals.
As for the neighborhood service, the city considered adjusting the Top of the World route to accommodate a bus stop used by residents at the corner of Alta Laguna Boulevard and Chateau Way, but decided against the change.
City Manager John Pietig said the city maintained the current route because of Zell Drive residents’ concerns, and he added there would be nowhere for trolleys to turn around without driving on residential or private streets.
Residents petitioned the city to keep trolleys off Zell Drive because of safety reasons — children frequently play on the street — and noise concerns, city public works Director Shohreh Dupuis told the council in August.
Buses traveling along Temple Hills Drive used to turn onto Zell Drive and eventually stopped at Chateau Way and Alta Laguna Boulevard.
With the neighborhood program, trolleys stay on Temple Hills Drive until they reach Alta Laguna Boulevard, north of the Chateau and Alta Laguna stop.
City staff members are preparing a report on Laguna’s public transportation system to present to the City Council early next year, Pietig added.
For more information on trolley routes and schedules, visit lagunabeachcity.net/cityhall/transit_and_trolleys/default.htm.
Twitter: @AldertonBryce
