Countywide : OCTA Density Study Ammo in Rail Fight
- Share via
Answering critics, Orange County transportation officials have released figures that show the county’s central, urban core has the same population density or greater than places in the state and the country that already have urban rail service.
The OCTA study rebuts a critique of the county’s urban rail plan by Drivers for Highway Safety, a group that favors spending on more freeways.
The figures given to OCTA board members at their meeting Monday show that Santa Ana and Anaheim, which are expected to be at or near the hub of Orange County’s urban rail line, has an urban core density of 7,845 people per square mile--more than the Los Angeles area with 7,333. The L.A. comparison includes Burbank, Long Beach, Pasadena and Pomona.
“I’m glad they’re paying attention to us and getting the facts out on the table,” said Bill Ward, a member of Drivers for Highway Safety. But Ward argued that using Santa Ana for comparison is misleading, since not all cities along the planned route of the proposed urban rail line are as densely populated as Santa Ana.
Additional studies will be conducted before a final decision is made to build Orange County’s system.
Meanwhile, OCTA’s study also concluded that the neighborhoods with the heaviest concentrations of Asians, Latinos and blacks would be served by a proposed 47-mile system, although current efforts are aimed at getting federal funding for only a short “starter” line in the central area of the county.
Urban Rail The county’s urban core, near Santa Ana, is as densely populated as any other in the state with a rail system, except San Francisco. Here’s how the urban areas and primary cities compare in residents per square mile. San Francisco (includes San Francisco only): 15,502.3 Santa Ana (includes Anaheim): 7,845.2 Los Angeles (includes Burbank, Long Beach, Pasadena and Pomona): 7,333.5 Oakland (includes Berkeley, Livermore): 6,168.3 San Jose (includes Palo Alto): 4,300.4 Sacramento (includes Davis, Roseville, and Woodland): 3,477.5 San Diego (includes Escondido): 3,390.4 Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
Sign up for Essential California
The most important California stories and recommendations in your inbox every morning.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
In this episode, we discuss the history here, what lessons were learned — and not — and how that can inform what we we do this time around as we attempt to rebuild Altadena and the Pacific Palisades.
Alexis Linkletter & Madison McGhee unpack the chaotic Justin Baldoni vs. Blake Lively lawsuit, separating fact from fiction, and its career impact.
Sammy Roth visits Ioneer’s proposed Rhyolite Ridge mine in Nevada with managing director Bernard Rowe, who details responsible lithium/boron extraction and Tiehm’s buckwheat protection.
