Trolly Line Foes Fight to Derail 2 Proposed Routes

A proposed light rail line from North Hollywood to Warner Center was assailed Monday night as a threat to property values and neighborhood serenity.

About 120 opponents of two proposed routes--a Victory Boulevard line and one that would use Chandler and Victory boulevards--attended a public hearing at Birmingham High School in Van Nuys.

None of the speakers supported the two controversial routes. But several favored using the Southern Pacific railroad mainline from North Hollywood to Chatsworth, which goes mostly through industrial and commercial areas.

The forum was the first of six scheduled by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which is in the process of selecting an east-west trolley line across the San Fernando Valley. Commissioners say they expect opposition to all five routes in contention as the hearings continue and more people learn that the trolleys may come through their neighborhoods.

Melissa Skoff told the panel Monday that sentiment against the trains is high in her Reseda neighborhood, and that a neighbor’s house sale was recently cancelled when a prospective buyer learned that the trolley might pass close by.

Florence Swait of Reseda said that more than 200 trains a day passing within 50 feet of her house would be “absolutely unendurable.” Arguing against the two routes that would use Victory Boulevard, she asked, “Does it make sense to build trains where there are houses on both sides of the tracks?”

The commission voted Feb. 11 to include five east-west routes in a yearlong environmental study that is expected to provide a factual basis for final selection of a route.

In addition to the Victory and Chandler-Victory routes, which have attracted almost all of the opposition, commissioners selected for further study the Southern Pacific mainline, the Los Angeles River flood-control channel and the Ventura Freeway.

The commission staff favors the Chandler-Victory route, saying it would be the least expensive and least disruptive to traffic because it would follow an existing Southern Pacific freight line.

Based on reports issued over the past four years, the Victory route appears to be the staff’s second choice, although transit engineers say it would require the costly displacement of numerous businesses in North Hollywood.

Staff engineers contend that, with modern equipment and noise walls, residents would experience little discomfort along any route.

But opponents, whose numbers have mushroomed since December, argue that the three-car trolleys will bring noise, traffic congestion and vibrations neighborhoods.

The Valley light rail line is to be connected with the Metro Rail subway in North Hollywood or at Universal City to provide service to downtown Los Angeles.

The commission, created by the Legislature, is building a network of trolley lines with money from the extra half-cent sales tax approved by Los Angeles County voters in 1980.

The commission’s next forum will be at 7 p.m. tonight at Canoga Park High School.