Bills and Doubts on Light Rail Plan Both Adding Up

As Orange County transportation planners know well, courting urban rail costs big bucks.

About $6.5 million already has been spent to study a proposed $1.4-billion, 28-mile light rail system running from Fullerton to Irvine. And the bills have only just begun.

At a retreat for Orange County Transportation Authority board members last week, officials indicated they will likely give the go-ahead in December to design and conduct an environmental review of the project. The cost: $30 million.

But that doesn’t mean they won’t get cold feet. “It’s an engagement, a $30-million ring. But you can still call it off,” said Cypress Mayor Tim Keenan, a transit board member.

The possibility of spending more than $36 million without any firm commitment to build the project has some critics angry. The authority has yet to secure about half of the funding needed to build the system.

“They’re spending a lot of money on something that may have a fatal flaw attached to it,” said Bob Geiss of Mission Viejo. “History says rail isn’t going to do what they say it’s going to do. It won’t reduce congestion, or take traffic off the street or reduce pollution.”

Geiss was the author of a scathing Orange County Grand Jury report released in May that criticized transit officials for their rail planning process.

The report, which looked into a dozen urban light rail systems built throughout the nation over the last 20 years, questioned whether Orange County transit officials were spending more time promoting urban rail than assessing its real value to the county.

Transit officials, who hotly disputed the grand jury’s charge, say they have been doing the job mandated by county voters when they passed Measure M in 1990. The half-cent sales tax increase earmarked about $340 million for an urban rail system in the county--an option transit officials have been exploring ever since.

While Measure M set aside funds for urban rail, the sum falls far short of the more than $1.4 billion needed to build a modest 28-mile system with 26 stops, including stations at popular attractions such as Edison International Field in Anaheim and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa.

At issue is whether urban rail can work in a largely suburban county known more for solo car trips than an affinity for public transportation.

Transit studies estimate the system would attract 50,000 to 62,000 daily riders--a tiny slice of the county’s daily commuters.

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The source of funds to build the systems also is in question. Currently, the proposed financing includes $574 million in state funds and federal air quality initiatives and $130 million from Measure M. Transportation officials hope the remaining $700 million they need will come from federal grants for new transit systems.

Still, there is no guarantee that the $700 million will materialize, even with expressions of support from federal authorities. The federal government has committed only about $5 million to the project thus far. The total cost would rise to $1.8 billion if planners go with an elevated alternative.

Lisa Mills, the transit agency’s chief executive officer, said a $30-million commitment is necessary to secure federal funding.

“The feds will not make a commitment to a 28-mile system out of the chute,” she said.

Mills said it is possible that the county would need to lay down about 10 to 15 miles of track before the federal government signs on.

But some question the wisdom of making that bet.

“I have great reservations about spending millions of dollars to do further planning with no guarantee from the federal government that they’re going to give us $700 million to build this project,” said Supervisor Todd Spitzer, a transit board member. “You don’t buy a house if you can’t afford to pay the mortgage.”

For now the process continues to march toward the scheduled Dec. 13 decision--which many say will determine the fate of urban rail in Orange County no matter the “reluctant suitor” stance expressed by the board.

Before that decision is made, the six cities along the path of the train line will have to agree on a route.

On Friday, transit board member Sarah L. Catz accompanied a group of city officials and politicians from the cities to tour Seattle’s light rail system.

A single route is set to be designated by mid-November and will be subject to public hearings before the board votes.