Controversial Route Favored for Rail Line

A controversial North Hollywood-to-Warner Center light-rail route that would traverse numerous residential areas was the leading choice Thursday of a committee charged with selecting a San Fernando Valley trolley route.

But members of the committee stressed that their informal, written vote favoring the route is preliminary and that additional votes will be taken after more information is gathered.

The most popular of 11 proposed routes would follow a little-used freight line along Chandler Boulevard in North Hollywood and Victory Boulevard west of the San Diego Freeway.

When Los Angeles County officials endorsed the same route last year, there were large-scale protests, with more than 700 opponents attending one public hearing.

Also drawing substantial support Thursday in the informal poll was a route that would parallel the Golden State Freeway from Sylmar to downtown Los Angeles, stopping in San Fernando, Burbank and Glendale.

The 32-member committee was created by the Los Angeles City Council after the county’s Transportation Commission abandoned efforts to designate a Valley light-rail route.

The commission, which is building a countywide network of light-rail lines, had been considering five east-west routes for the Valley. But it shelved the proposed routes in November in the face of mushrooming opposition from several homeowner organizations as well as coalitions organized to fight specific routes.

Light-rail proponents, most of them from business groups, tried in vain to dissuade the commission from backing away from picking a Valley route. However, the commission invited elected officials to designate a route or routes that would have the broad support of Valley residents.

The committee has until August to make a recommendation.

The council, which is free to accept or reject a recommendation from the committee, hopes to have a final report to the county Transportation Commission by Sept. 1 to prevent commissioners from diverting available funds to light-rail lines in other areas.