Highland Park Route Urged for Rail Line

Assemblyman Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles) has urged elected officials in the San Gabriel Valley and northeast Los Angeles to unite behind the Highland Park route for the proposed light-rail line from Los Angeles to Pasadena.

Polanco said a letter signed by elected officials could help persuade the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission to give the line priority over competing lines proposed along the coast and in the San Fernando Valley. Polanco said a consensus on the Pasadena route would contrast with the controversy that exists over the San Fernando Valley route.

2 Routes Considered

The Transportation Commission is considering two routes to Pasadena, one using the Santa Fe railroad tracks through Highland Park and the other going along North Main Street in Los Angeles through Lincoln Heights and in the middle of Huntington Drive through El Sereno, before turning northward along the proposed Long Beach Freeway extension. South Pasadena officials favor the Highland Park route; Alhambra officials support the El Sereno alignment.

Polanco, who represents part of Pasadena, said the Highland Park route would displace fewer homes. In addition, he said, the purchase of the Santa Fe right of way would remove freight traffic from the area, ending the risk of derailment of trains carrying toxic materials, and would create the possibility of a commuter train service eastward along the tracks to San Bernardino.

In Pasadena, the city staff and Transportation Advisory Commission have recommended that the Pasadena Board of Directors ask the county Transportation Commission to select an alignment “that does not rely on completion of Route 710 (Long Beach Freeway) to reach Pasadena.” Director Rick Cole said that instead of “pussy-footing around,” the city should consider an outright endorsement of the Highland Park alignment.

But other Pasadena officials, noting that Alhambra favors one alignment and South Pasadena the other, said the city should avoid taking sides on the route outside the city boundaries. Director John Crowley said his main concern is that the issue not become entangled in the 25-year controversy over the extension of the Long Beach Freeway. Directors have referred the issue to the city’s light-rail task force for a recommendation.