Transit Panel Sticks With 5 Trolley Routes

After more than an hour of stormy comment from San Fernando Valley homeowner and business leaders, a key group of transit officials on Friday decided to recommend that no changes be made in the five controversial light-rail routes under study.

As it has before, the Rapid Transit Committee of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission rebuffed homeowner leaders who want various routes dropped from consideration on the grounds that the trains would disturb too many homes.

The 11-member commission, which is building a countywide network of light-rail lines, will take up the issue of Valley light rail Nov. 18.

Basis for Choosing Route

It is expected to follow the five-member Rapid Transit Committee’s recommendation and authorize a consultant to begin the final phase of a $1.6-million environmental study that began last April.

Commissioners said the study will provide the basis for selection of a route, probably about a year from now.

Routes under study are the Ventura Freeway, the Los Angeles River, a route that follows Chandler Boulevard and Oxnard Street east of the San Diego Freeway and then largely follows Victory Boulevard west to Warner Center, a route that largely follows Victory Boulevard the length of the Valley, and the Southern Pacific railroad main line, which runs diagonally across the Valley connecting North Hollywood with Chatsworth.

The Chandler-Victory and Victory routes, both of which pass through neighborhoods of single-family homes, have drawn the most heat from homeowners. They also have the most support from business leaders, who value the two routes because they provide a fairly direct connection between Universal City and Warner Center, two booming commercial areas.

The committee meeting Friday was not billed as a public hearing, and the committee had been expected to recommend going ahead with the study.

Nonetheless, more than 30 groups involved in the long-running debate over light rail took advantage of the fact that the issue was on the committee’s agenda to once again air their positions.

Most Favor Chandler-Victory Route

Representatives of about 20 chambers of commerce and other business groups urged the committee not to waver in studying all five routes.

Most business leaders did not publicly endorse any route, although most said privately that they favor the Chandler-Victory route.

On the other hand, a representative of the Chatsworth Chamber of Commerce told the committee his group favors the Southern Pacific main-line route.

Two new groups surfaced in opposition to all five routes: the Taxpayers and Residents Against Coastline and the All Valley Transportation Coalition, representing homeowner groups from Encino, Woodland Hills, Van Nuys and Tarzana.

Gordon Murley of Woodland Hills, a coalition founder, said that, instead of rail transit, local bus service should be improved and streets should be upgraded to handle traffic volume.

He said business leaders are pushing light rail to relieve growing congestion in Warner Center, which he said “is in dire need of something, but light rail will just give them a reason to grow more.”