Judge Rejects Attempt to Bar Portion of Trolley Line in L. B.

A Superior Court judge has rejected a bid by a group of business and property owners to block construction of a segment of the proposed $685-million Los Angeles-to-Long Beach trolley system.

Judge Charles S. Litwin ruled that the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission “proceeded in a manner required by law” in deciding to build a two-mile stretch of the trolley line along Long Beach Boulevard.

No Slo Transit Inc., a group of about 100 boulevard merchants and landowners, filed the suit last April because of concerns that the trolley line would cause traffic congestion and that they would be driven out of business during construction.

“Judge Litwin gave us a good hearing, but I disagree with him,” said C. Robert Ferguson, a Pasadena attorney representing No Slo Transit. “I believe his basic decision is in error.” Bob Lee, a boulevard property owner and a leader of No Slo Transit, was more blunt, saying the group would appeal the decision.

‘Our Lives Are at Stake’

“You know we’re going to fight,” Lee said. “Hell, our lives are at stake, our livelihood. We can’t let it happen without going down swinging.”

Officials at the county Transportation Commission, meanwhile, said they were pleased by the ruling. “It’s a green light for the project now,” said Ann Reeves, a commission spokeswoman. The commission has set 1990 as the target for completion of the transit line.

In a three-page ruling released Thursday, Litwin said the commission’s decision to route a segment of the 22.5-mile rail line along Long Beach Boulevard was “supported by substantial evidence” after studying the “economic impacts” of a trolley running along the busy roadway.

The lawsuit was originally assigned to Judge Eugene Long, but was transferred to Litwin, a retired judge acting as a court-appointed referee, because of a scheduling conflict.

The trolley line is to run from Long Beach through Compton and the Florence-Willowbrook area to downtown Los Angeles. More than a dozen routes through Long Beach were initially considered for the trolley. Most, however, were scrapped after residents complained.

Choices Narrowed

In the end, the choices were narrowed to the boulevard, which cuts through the central downtown area, and a route along the eastern bank of the Los Angeles River.

The commission approved the boulevard route on March 27, 1985, noting that the trolley could be built and operated at less cost along that corridor than along the river. The commission said both routes would serve about the same number of riders.

A week before the commission decision, the Long Beach City Council also endorsed the boulevard route despite complaints from boulevard merchants and a city staff report recommending the river route.

Members of No Slo Transit argued that the trolley line should run along the river route or end at Willow Street.

In the lawsuit, No Slo Transit challenged the environmental reviews done before the commission vote and asked for preparation of a new environmental impact report. The group argued that the original study did not address problems with rush-hour traffic or what effect construction would have on boulevard businesses.

‘Substantial Evidence’

Litwin, however, said the environmental report was “supported by substantial evidence” and had adequately addressed traffic and economic effects of the project.

No Slo Transit also contended in the lawsuit that the commission had never reviewed a report compiled by the Long Beach Planning Department that recommended routing the trolley line along the Los Angeles River instead of the boulevard.

According to that staff report, the river route could be more easily upgraded “to a true rapid transit system” in the future, would provide better commuter service to downtown Long Beach and would be a better link to a regional system envisioned for the Los Angeles basin.

It also noted that the 55-minute commute between Los Angeles and Long Beach on the boulevard route would be six minutes longer than on the river route.

Attorneys for the Transportation Commission, however, argued during two days of hearings in October, 1985, that the commission had in fact reviewed the report.

Litwin agreed that “concerns of the Long Beach Planning Department were conveyed” to the commission and that action was taken to mitigate those problems. The commission plans to spend more than $10 million to widen the boulevard, carve traffic turn pockets and provide for median landscaping.

While the Long Beach lawsuit appears to be out of the way, the commission still has not resolved a dispute over routing of the trolley line in Compton. Reeves said negotiations are continuing with city officials there.