Alhambra, S. Pasadena at Odds Over Proposals : Two Cities Ponder Light-Rail Routes

Alhambra and South Pasadena, which have long been at odds over construction of the Long Beach Freeway, are now in disagreement over the route of a proposed light-rail line from downtown Los Angeles toward Pasadena.

The South Pasadena City Council has endorsed a route that would run trolley cars to South Pasadena along the Santa Fe railroad tracks through Highland Park. Alhambra officials favor a route along Main Street in Los Angeles through El Sereno that would tie in with the proposed extension of the Long Beach Freeway.

Both routes are under consideration by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission, which will decide later this year whether to build at least part of the Los Angeles-Pasadena line in the next decade. But first the commission must select the route to Pasadena.

Alhambra City Manager Kevin Murphy said the proposed route through El Sereno would be cheaper to build and better serve his city, which is heavily dependent on public transportation.

“It’s the better choice,” said Murphy. “It’s shorter. It’s cheaper. What more do you want?”

But South Pasadena City Manager John Bernardi said a rail line running through El Sereno and then northward along the Long Beach Freeway corridor through the heart of his city would be as objectionable as the freeway extension itself.South Pasadena has resisted such a rail line for decades to the dismay of Alhambra and other neighboring cities who want the freeway built quickly to ease traffic congestion.

Bernardi said that combining the rail line with the freeway would be acceptable only if the state replaces its proposed freeway route through the center of South Pasadena with the city’s proposed westerly alignment.

Assurance Is Sought

Bernardi said the city will ask the county Transportation Commission to look at the westerly alignment as an alternative. While the city is on record in support of the proposed route along the Santa Fe tracks, Bernardi said, there are a number of issues to be resolved, including the placement of stations. He said the city also wants assurance that the line will not end in South Pasadena, but in Pasadena.

The Transportation Commission has circulated a draft environmental impact report on the alternate routes up to South Pasadena and El Sereno, but the choice of a route through Pasadena rests with that city’s Board of Directors. The commission and the city are jointly funding studies on the Pasadena alignment. The city board is expected to adopt a route this summer.

The Pasadena-Los Angeles line is an extension of a trolley line between Los Angeles and Long Beach that is scheduled to begin service in the middle of 1990.

Trolley Cars in Pasadena

Pasadena officials said they are not taking a position on what route the trolley line should take outside Pasadena, but a city task force has recommended that the line enter the city limits along the Santa Fe railroad tracks, rather than the Long Beach Freeway.

Trolley cars would proceed north in Pasadena along the railroad right-of-way and then either veer east through the downtown area, or remain in the Santa Fe right-of-way and travel east in the middle of the Foothill Freeway.

Douglas C. Reilly, city transit and commuter services coordinator, said there are advantages to each pathway. Placing the line along the freeway might serve commuters well and avoid disrupting downtown, but bringing the line along city streets could stimulate business and bring passengers closer to a variety of shopping and entertainment destinations.

Two routes have been proposed on Pasadena streets. One plan would turn Green Street into a transit mall, with trolley lines in both directions. Another plan, called the Green-Colorado Couplet, would put the eastbound line on Green Street and the westbound line on Colorado Boulevard from the Santa Fe right-of-way to Hill Street. Both routes would go north on Hill to a railroad spur near Walnut Street and then eastward to a terminal in the vicinity of Rosemead Boulevard and Sierra Madre Villa.

Gordon Bagby, chairman of the city’s rail alignment task force, said support is developing for both the freeway and downtown alternatives, and he may propose a compromise route that would combine elements of the two. His hope, he said, is that the task force can reach agreement and recommend a route to the Board of Directors this spring.

As Soon as Possible

After making its decision, the board will urge the Transportation Commission to schedule construction as soon as possible. Pasadena officials hope that the Los Angeles-Pasadena line will be seen by the Transportation Commission as less controversial and easier to build then lines elsewhere in the county, and that the commission will push it ahead of other projects.

“It’s very important to get the Pasadena-San Gabriel Valley line funded and built,” said Pasadena Mayor William E. Thomson Jr. “I don’t care how many buses you put on the street or how often they run, (a bus system) is not nearly as efficient in moving people as rail transportation.”

Thomson said the city hopes to advance construction of the line by enlisting the support of other cities that could be served by it. The Transportation Commission is funding trolley lines with revenue from a half-cent sales tax approved by county voters in 1980. The proposition enacting the tax called for a rail line extending eastward only as far as Pasadena. Thomson said Pasadena would back state legislation or other steps necessary to push the line farther east.

“Our hope is that we can have this become the San Gabriel Valley line and gain the support of Arcadia, Monrovia and cities to the east of us,” he said.

The Transportation Commission expects to have $800 million to spend on new light-rail projects through the year 2000.

Alternate Routes Studied

In addition to the line to Pasadena, the Transportation Commission is studying routes in the San Fernando Valley and along the coast, between the Century Freeway in El Segundo and Marina del Rey.

The money that will be available through the end of this century is not enough to build all the lines. In fact, Susan Rosales, senior rail development planner, said it would cost $590 million to $750 million just to build the portion of the Pasadena line between downtown Los Angeles and South Pasadena.

The first leg of the project would carry the line in a subway through downtown Los Angeles, starting at a transit station at 7th and Flower streets where the line to Long Beach begins. The line could run northward in a subway under Flower and Hope streets or follow Flower to 2nd Street, then run under 2nd and turn northward to run under Los Angeles Street. Both proposed routes would go under the Santa Ana Freeway and then either to North Broadway or Main Street.

From Broadway, the line would go above ground to travel at grade on the Santa Fe Railroad tracks through Highland Park to South Pasadena.

The alternative route would take the line above ground along Main Street through Lincoln Heights and then down the middle of Huntington Drive in El Sereno to the proposed path of the Long Beach Freeway extension.

50,000 Daily Passengers

Rosales said the Highland Park route is about eight miles long and would cost $650 million to $750 million. The El Sereno alignment covers seven miles and would cost $590 million to $650 million.

Rosales said ridership studies indicate that the routes would carry from 45,000 to 50,000 passengers a day. The trip from South Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles would take about 15 minutes.

Mayor Thomson said Pasadena’s preference for the Santa Fe railroad right-of-way stems from concern that the project will get bogged down by the controversy, now 25 years old, of extending the Long Beach freeway through South Pasadena.

Using the Santa Fe route “is far more appealing from our perspective than to wait for the Long Beach Freeway to have a route chosen and a freeway built,” Thomson said.

But Alhambra’s Murphy said he believes the Long Beach Freeway issue, including any legal challenges after the proposed route receives final state and federal approval, will be resolved within a few years, well before the rail line is built.

“It can’t be stalled forever,” he said.

Use of Right of Way

Use of the Santa Fe right-of-way also has its uncertainties. Santa Fe has declared an interest in selling the right-of-way, but only on condition that the buyer purchase the entire length from Los Angeles to San Bernardino.

Supervisor Pete Schabarum has suggested that the full right-of-way could be used for a commuter train. His press deputy, Judy Hammond, said the county is establishing criteria for appraising the right-of-way and is beginning to look at methods of financing commuter-rail service. She said Schabarum intends to contact elected officials of San Bernardino County and cities along the right-of-way to determine their interest in the project.

Rosales said it might be possible for commuter trains and trolley cars to share the right-of-way, or perhaps the commuter train could run between Pasadena and San Bernardino while trolley cars run between Los Angeles and Pasadena.

The Transportation Commission is accepting public comment on its environmental impact report on the light-rail routes between downtown Los Angeles and South Pasadena until Thursday.

The commission plans to make a decision by October on which light-rail routes to fund. Rosales said the commission could commit funds to all or part of the Pasadena line, but extending the line as far as Pasadena is probably at least 10 years away.