I-5 Reopening Could Derail Mass Transit

Despite the opening Wednesday of the entire Golden State Freeway in Santa Clarita for the first time in four months, hundreds of northern Los Angeles County commuters stuck to mass transit, following a routine adopted after the Northridge earthquake cut off road access to the south.

But advocates of public transportation warned that commuting alternatives such as the Metrolink train service must aggressively market themselves to attract new passengers and retain riders no longer held captive by impossible road conditions. And even then, experts said, mass transit will likely face an uphill climb.

“We have to keep it in front of the public eye,” said Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Jan Heidt, who is also a Metrolink alternate board member.

“I’m very happy that the I-5 is open from the standpoint that less will be happening to our city,” Heidt said, noting that heavy traffic has clogged and rutted area roads. “On the other hand, I’m ambivalent about it. After the quake we were telling people to get out of their cars and take alternate transportation. What message are we sending to people now?”

Southbound lanes on the Golden State were opened Tuesday, three weeks earlier than expected. Two lanes on the northbound Gavin Canyon overpass were opened before dawn Wednesday after work crews finished clearing away The Old Road detour. The remaining lanes were opened by 4 p.m.

Although the freeway was available for a seamless commute, about 5,500 people Wednesday rode the periwinkle-and-white Metrolink trains to and from Downtown Los Angeles from the north, consistent with the average over the last two months, officials said. Deputy Executive Director David Solow said the rail service does not expect a sharp drop in patronage from the renaissance of the Golden State Freeway, which lies “substantially west of the Santa Clarita train station. It’s not the right market.”

But officials acknowledge that the real test will come in a few weeks when monthly passes expire and again at the end of July, when Caltrans expects to reopen the crucial interchange between the Golden State and Antelope Valley Freeway (Highway 14).

“That’s the one that’s a direct link” to Downtown for the vast majority of Metrolink riders from the north, Metrolink spokesman Peter Hidalgo said.

“When they open the 14, we’ll be praising God,” said Merci Shaw, whose husband currently shuttles between Lancaster and Downtown Los Angeles by train. “For our family, the 5 means nothing.”

To persuade passengers like Shaw’s husband to stay loyal, Metrolink is looking at ways to reward longtime riders through prizes or incentives similar to the frequent-flyer programs used by airlines, marketing manager Ray Shea said. A high-profile promotions campaign to draw new riders will begin next month, including a free trial-ride offer to be advertised in newspapers, over the airwaves and in direct mailings to about 400,000 households along the Santa Clarita and Ventura County rail lines.

Workers are also scrambling to finish $50 million worth of track improvements by June 20, a few weeks ahead of schedule, to keep train use appealing by shaving another 26 minutes off the ride from Lancaster to Union Station. Currently, the journey takes two hours, eight minutes, already 17 minutes less than when Antelope Valley service was first instituted as a relief measure after the Northridge earthquake.

The temblor was a blessing in disguise for Metrolink, which swiftly added five new stations on the Santa Clarita line and watched ridership shoot up from about 1,000 to nearly 22,000 a day in both directions. The number has since dropped to 5,500.

Once the Golden State Freeway-Antelope Valley Freeway interchange is rebuilt, passenger rolls could flag further, despite marketing ploys.

“Mass transit under any circumstances is not prepared to compete at all with heavily subsidized automobiles,” said Martin Wachs, who teaches urban planning at UCLA. “The commuter will choose the mode of travel that is most convenient, cheapest and most reliable. For most people in most locations in most circumstances, that’s the automobile, even with the promotional campaigns for mass transit.”

But Solow said even a 25% to 30% increase over pre-quake levels--or 1,300 riders--would match the retention rate of new riders by the Bay Area subway system after the Loma Prieta quake in 1989.

The majority of north county Metrolink riders hold monthly passes, which have been discounted since the earthquake as a relief measure.

Also Wednesday, Caltrans announced that the Fontana-based Brutoco Engineering and Construction Co. had finished repairing the eastbound side of the bridges at San Fernando Mission Boulevard and Bull Creek on the Simi Valley Freeway, the main artery across the northern San Fernando Valley. The work had been scheduled for completion Sunday.

Henry Chu is a Times staff writer. Douglas Alger is a special correspondent. Times staff writer Abigail Goldman contributed to this story.