Burbank Wants In on Rail System, Petitions for 11th-Hour Revision

Burbank city officials are seeking an 11th-hour redrawing of public-transit plans to include their city of 84,000 in either Metro Rail or one of several light-rail lines proposed for the San Fernando Valley.

In the last week, city officials have met with transit officials to petition either to have a Metro Rail station slated for Universal Studios moved to Burbank’s studio area along West Olive Avenue or to adopt one of several proposed light-rail corridors that pass through the city.

Assistant City Atty. George Nony said Burbank’s dual requests, “while made late in the planning game, have been well-received.”

However, he said, the city has received no commitments from either the Southern California Rapid Transit District, which hopes to begin building the Metro Rail subway system within a year, or the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which is slated to break ground this month on the first light-rail line between Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Pessimistic About Move

Nony was particularly pessimistic about the possibility of persuading the RTD to move the Universal Studios Metro Rail station 1 1/2 miles to Burbank’s Media District along West Olive Avenue.

RTD board President Nick Patsaouras said the proposal to relocate the station is “not very promising because it would be tantamount to starting the planning process again.”

Burbank wants to be included in public-transit plans because of the “unexpected and phenomenal growth in the Media District in the past three years,” Nony said.

He said that, when office buildings that have been approved or are under construction are completed, an estimated 15,000 new employees will be flow into the district each day. City officials also believe that travelers using Burbank Airport should have access to public transit, Nony said.

Jacki Bacharach, chairwoman of the county transportation commission, said the session with Burbank officials was “very productive, and we have agreed to take a second look at their requests.”

She said that the commission’s staff will prepare cost estimates for studying the feasibility of extending proposed light-rail lines into the city. Burbank has tentatively agreed to pay for such studies.

Several of the lines are designed to tie in with Metro Rail, a $3.3-billion subway system that would connect downtown Los Angeles with the Wilshire Corridor, then travel north to Universal Studios and end at Lankershim and Chandler boulevards in North Hollywood.

RTD officials are awaiting the outcome of a congressional struggle over appropriating start-up funds for Metro Rail.

Light-Rail Lines Cheaper

Light-rail lines, such as trolley lines, operate above ground on existing streets and highways and generally cost much less to build than subway systems.

In addition to the Long Beach-Los Angeles rail line, the county transportation commission has authorized construction of a rail line along the Century Freeway between Norwalk and Los Angeles International Airport.

Other proposed lines include a South Bay line, an East Los Angeles-Pasadena line and a line connecting Burbank Airport with Glendale and downtown Los Angeles. Bacharach said the commission is still studying patronage projections and cost estimates for the proposed lines.

Nony said the city would be interested in the line proposed between the Burbank Airport and downtown Los Angeles, or in an extension of the cross-Valley line into Burbank.

As now proposed, the Valley line would run from Chatsworth to North Hollywood, where it would tie into Metro Rail.