East Trolley Line Almost Ready to Roll

Transit officials are putting together last-minute details in preparation for next week’s unveiling of the East Line of the San Diego Trolley.

Inaugural ceremonies for the $33.6-million project, which connects downtown with Southeast San Diego, are set for 10:30 a.m. Thursday. Gov. George Deukmejian is the scheduled speaker.

“What we really have to do is train all personnel to run this line,” said Langley C. Powell, managing director of the trolley, adding that 15 drivers will operate the line.

The 4 1/2-mile Euclid extension will be the first addition since the Metropolitan Transit Development Board started service between downtown and the Mexican border in 1981.

Powell said that other than a few loose ends, such as scratching chipped paint off depot walls and reprogramming traffic signals to ensure that there are no traffic snarls caused by the new line, the trolley should be ready for service.

MTDB spokeswoman Judy Leitner said San Diegans can ride the trolley free during a preview next Friday and March 22. Complementary preview tickets can be picked up at Sunrise Convenience Stores throughout Southeast San Diego, starting Saturday. Those caught riding without the tickets will be given a citation, she said. The trolley officially opens March 23.

The Euclid line will use a zone fare system, copied from the one used on the South Line, officials said. Fares will range from 50 cents to $1.50.

The line will operate from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week, Leitner said. Trolleys will run every 15 minutes during the morning and afternoon rush hours, and every 30 minutes at other times.

Eventually, officials hope to expand the trolley system throughout the county, beginning with a continuation of the eastward extension from Euclid Avenue to El Cajon. That proposal came a step closer Tuesday when the federal Urban Mass Transportation Administration tentatively approved an environmental impact report needed for the project.

“Ralph Stanley (director of UMTA) said in a conversation with Congressman Lowery (Tuesday) that the Administration has finally conceded to go ahead with the environmental impact statement,” said Dan Greenblat, administrative assistant to Rep. William Lowery (R-San Diego).

A spokeswoman for the congressman said that the approval could release $20.3 million in federal funds earmarked for the project through 1986.

MTDB officials said that the release of the money is necessary for the completion of the $87.5-million extension. The 11-mile East Line extension would start at Euclid Avenue and go east, running parallel to Highway 94 and passing through Lemon Grove, La Mesa and El Cajon.