Underground Rail Line in Valley OKd

The county Transportation Commission on Wednesday ended nearly four years of often bitter debate over a proposed San Fernando Valley rail line--connecting to Metro Rail from downtown--by selecting a route that would go underground through residential areas of North Hollywood and Van Nuys.

The commission, voting 8 to 3, chose a route along the Southern Pacific railroad right-of-way, crossing the Valley from the Metro Rail terminus in North Hollywood to Warner Center.

The vote does not ensure that the line will be built, because two other areas of the county are contending for the available funds for the next rail project.

The commission is scheduled to choose which of the three will get the money on March 28.

But Wednesday’s vote pleased the coalition of political, civic, business and homeowner leaders who have been pushing for a 5.6-mile westward extension of the downtown-to-North Hollywood Metro Rail subway to the San Diego Freeway.

They opposed rival proposals for a surface rail line along the same route, or a monorail along the Ventura Freeway.

“I’m happy. We got what we wanted,” said state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana), who led efforts to form the coalition from previously antagonistic groups. Robbins lobbyed on behalf of the subway plan right up to the vote.

A second vote on Valley rail options was much closer.

By a vote of 5 to 6, commissioners decided against authorizing further study of county Supervisor Mike Antonovich’s plan to build an elevated monorail or magnetic levitation system on the south shoulder of the Ventura Freeway from Universal City to Warner Center.

Although clearly reluctant to offend Antonovich, who also has lobbyed intensely in recent days for his plan, the commission majority felt that the 90 days of additional study required for the monorail plan would take the Valley out of contention for the next rail project.

The two other projects under consideration are a light-rail line from downtown to Pasadena or a northward extension of the Century Freeway light-rail line from El Segundo to Marina del Rey.

The commission says it has only enough money to build one more line before the turn of the century, because most of its rail money is committed to three lines under construction--Metro Rail and two light rail lines, the Century Freeway and Long Beach-Los Angeles routes.

Several commissioners have acknowledged privately that the Valley has the political clout to take the funding for the next line provided that the consensus on the Metro Rail extension holds together.

In a demonstration of that clout, the Los Angeles City Council earlier Wednesday voted 11 to 0 to endorse the Valley Metro Rail extension plan.

Although the county transportation commissioners committed themselves to building any Valley rail line underground along the Southern Pacific freight line, which roughly parallels Chandler and Victory boulevards, they left open the possibility of using light rail or even monorail or magnetic levitation technology on the line.

However, staff members speculated that the technology question was left open only as an effort to mollify Antonovich, who did not attend the meeting but has left no doubt that he strongly advocates a futuristic elevated freeway line.