HUNTINGTON BEACH : Experimental Tram to Begin Next Year

With an unprecedented wave of visitors and residents expected to hit the downtown beach area soon, the city early next year will begin operating a tram service between hotels, shops, the beach and other area attractions.

City officials, however, are moving cautiously since some similar systems in other Orange County beach cities have proven unprofitable. The Huntington Beach system will be tested starting in March with one experimental tram.

Tom Andrusky, who is coordinating the project, said recent downtown traffic studies project a dramatic influx of cars and pedestrians by next year, when several major Main-Pier Redevelopment Area projects are scheduled to be completed. A 13-story, 296-room hotel-convention complex, two townhouse and condominium projects, a six-screen movie theater, dozens of shops and offices and a five-level parking structure all are expected to open during the first half of 1990.

City officials have yet to determine the specific route the tram will cover, what hours it will operate and how much, if anything, it will cost passengers to ride, Andrusky said. So far, the city has earmarked $55,000 to buy the tram.

If the service proves successful, the city will consider buying additional trams, extending operation hours and perhaps broadening the scope of the service, Andrusky said.

Andrusky of Huntington Beach said he believes that his city’s tram system will succeed because it will be serving a relatively small, centralized area that will serve several major hotels and businesses.

“We’re going to take care to develop a well-planned way to go about this . . . but, really, we’ll just have to see what happens.”