Panel Sets March 8 for Rail Options Decision : Local News in Brief

The Los Angeles County Transportation Commission on Wednesday set March 8 for a decision on which proposed San Fernando Valley rail route options should remain under consideration.

The commission, which is building a countywide network of rail lines, has been studying several variations of two east-west routes, both of which would connect to the downtown-to-North Hollywood Metro Rail subway.

The routes are the Ventura Freeway corridor from Universal City to Warner Center and the Southern Pacific railroad right of way that parallels Chandler and Victory boulevards between North Hollywood and Warner Center.

In addition to choosing between the two routes, the 11-member commission has been studying whether to make the cross-Valley line an extension of Metro Rail or a less-costly light-rail line.

Homeowners along both routes have demanded that in residential areas the line should be a subway.

The commission, at the midpoint of a $2.1-million study of Valley route options, will consider several proposals to modify the study, including whether to drop above-ground rail in single-family neighborhoods.