COUNTYWIDE : OCTD Joins Agency Reviewing Monorail

Orange County Transit District board members voted Monday to join a new, six-city agency overseeing plans for a $1-billion monorail, or light-rail, system.

The transit board also voted to change a few bus routes to increase efficiency, drawing concern from the Irvine Co. because one of the service changes might force Newport Center office and retail workers who use the bus system to walk half a mile farther than they do now. The Irvine Co. owns Newport Center and has offices there.

The unanimous vote to join the Central Orange County Fixed Guideway Agency came after the OCTD staff assured board members that the financial feasibility of a light-rail system will be studied before transportation officials commit additional resources. Already, more than $500,000 is being spent on preliminary project research.

The new agency, which will include representatives from Anaheim, Costa Mesa, Fullerton, Irvine, Orange and Santa Ana as well as county officials, will review the planning for the proposed light-rail line but will not build or operate the system, officials said.

Brian Pearson, director of the county rail program, said only half of the $1 billion needed to build the system is available, with the remainder “yet to be identified.” Pearson said that he hopes that businesses will invest about $200 million in the project but that other funds will also have to be found.

The new emphasis on rail projects is due in part to passage of Measure M, the half-cent county sales tax increase for highway and transit projects that took effect on Monday.

But buses are expected to remain the county’s biggest source of transit service for decades to come, and a change adopted by the OCTD on Monday will affect some riders of the 57 line.

The district decided to eliminate four stops in Newport Center--those at Pacific Mutual Life Insurance Co., an office building and two large hotels--because they are located so close to the Newport Center bus station.

But after an Irvine Co. official objected, OCTD staffers agreed to work with the firm to see if the approved change can be modified. The change will affect about 128 weekday passengers who currently use the 57 line, OCTD officials said.