Proposed 28-Mile Urban Rail Line Debated : Transit: Foes and supporters of Fullerton-Irvine link trade barbs, but most testimony at hearing favors plan.

Split into militant camps, supporters and critics of a proposed 28-mile urban rail line clashed before Orange County transit officials Monday, with each side blaming the other for current traffic congestion.

Don’t listen to “a few elderly men with an exaggerated emotional attachment to asphalt,” Irvine activist Judy Davis said of rail’s pro-auto foes. “Building more roads will only give us more of what we already have. . . . We must change our ways.”

But warning of rail transit’s high costs, Leon McKinney of Huntington Beach described the proposed $2-billion project as a “social program for minorities” who live or work along the rail line. He charged that rail projects are a liberal, misguided attempt to “order” people’s lives and take away their ability to make their own choices, including eliminating cheap bus service for seniors.

OCTA board member Sarah L. Catz of Laguna Beach protested McKinney’s assertion.

“That’s the opposite of what we’re trying to do,” said Catz during the standing-room-only session that drew 26 public speakers, about three-fourths of whom supported the proposed route.

But Supervisor Roger R. Stanton, also on the OCTA board, defended McKinney, saying that he is correct about choices being reduced, if operating funds for rail have to come at the expense of other transit programs.

The OCTA board won’t vote until April 11 on whether to pursue federal funds for such a rail line. Under the current proposal, the line would connect Fullerton and Irvine with Disneyland and South Coast Plaza. Monday’s meeting was the first time OCTA has invited the public to testify specifically on a proposed route since Measure M funding for transportation projects was approved by county voters in 1990.

The ballot measure hiked the sales tax rate by half a cent in hopes of raising $3.2 billion for traffic improvements over 20 years. About $340 million has been earmarked for intra-county urban rail, which would have more stations and run more frequently than inter-county, Metrolink commuter trains.

But critics of rail service contended Monday that even if the proposed Fullerton-Irvine rail line is financed entirely by the federal government, Orange County shouldn’t take the money to construct any new passenger rail lines.

“We don’t need ox-carts, we don’t need stagecoaches, we don’t need canal barges, and we don’t need urban rail,” said Bill Ward of Costa Mesa, a member of Drivers for Highway Safety, a pro-auto group. “Under no circumstances should we bite on the bait of federal pork that is being offered. . . . The upkeep and operating expenses from local taxes would keep going, and going and going, like the battery bunny. . . . Just say no.”

Ward added: “If you have extra money laying around, spend it on earthquake upgrades for freeway bridges, not trains.”

However, Ward was countered by several people who endorsed rail either because they are confident that commuters will flock to trains or because rail projects may have other benefits, including jobs, neighborhood redevelopment and gains in air quality.

“It’s not just the transportation benefit,” said Les Card, an engineering consultant who represents the Building Industry Assn.

Local shopping, sports center and development firm executives also paraded to the rostrum in support of the proposed route.

For example, Tanya Thomas, general manager of Santa Ana’s MainPlace mall, said, “We believe that such a transportation system will have extreme economic and lifestyle benefits.” And Kevin Owens, parking manager for the traffic-plagued Anaheim Arena, strongly endorsed the rail plan.

The county’s largest single employer also weighed in.

Dan Reeder, a spokesman for Hughes Aircraft Co. in Fullerton, cited surveys that show rail is a preferred alternative to autos among its workers. And Reeder spoke of Hughes’ recently announced $39-million contract to double the capacity of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system--without new trains or right-of-way purchases--through use of digital radio communications first developed for the military and used in the Persian Gulf War.

The new equipment can pinpoint each train’s exact location, telling it how fast to go so the trains can run closer together.

At the request of Santa Ana Mayor Daniel H. Young, who was impressed with the presentation, Reeder agreed to return to OCTA soon with a special briefing on the technology.