Majority on Council Against Rail

In a growing groundswell against a proposed light rail system for Orange County, a majority of Anaheim’s City Council members say they will oppose the so-called CenterLine at tonight’s council meeting.

Citing concerns that the system is too expensive for the amount of congestion relief it will provide, three of the five council members said they believe light rail should not be built anywhere in Orange County. The stance comes even after Orange County Transportation Authority officials dramatically scaled back plans for what was to be a 27-mile corridor running between Irvine and Fullerton, in large part because of opposition from some core cities.

The concern proved warranted with the votes of several key cities in the last few weeks. Santa Ana’s City Council voted to oppose light rail Nov. 15. Last week, Orange called on the transit agency to terminate the CenterLine project, a week after the City Council voted to oppose it.

Transit officials say they believe the project is still viable, despite the opposition of cities that had been at the heart of the line. Transit board members are scheduled to take an important vote on the future of light rail Monday, considering whether to go forward with an initial operating segment, stop the planning process now or defer a decision to a later date. What effect the opposition will have on the scheduled vote remains to be seen.

“I think we’ve always felt that this is a complicated project and it’s difficult for people to get their arms around it,” OCTA spokesman Bill Hodge said. “We are still optimistic that as time goes on we can engage these cities in conversation, and hopefully they’ll see the project has some benefit.”

Under the latest plan, revealed late last month by transit officials, an 11.4-mile route would be built between Irvine and Costa Mesa, making it possible to go forward with plans without the consent of cities farther north on the line.

But in Anaheim, elected officials say their concerns about light rail go far beyond the city’s border.

“It’s ancient technology, going back to a rail with wires hanging overhead,” City Councilman Frank Feldhaus said. “There must be something better than that.”

Feldhaus and fellow council members Lucille Kring and Tom Tait say they have never believed that many people will ride the county’s light rail system even in Anaheim, which attracts more than 13 million visitors each year to Disneyland, as well as millions more to other destination spots.

Moreover, they say the design of the system proposed would create an unsightly blemish on the city’s streets, with wires hanging overhead on the street-level sections and concrete pillars rising up from medians where the line would be elevated.

Kring and others also expressed concern that light rail would cost the city revenue by making it easier for tourists to stay outside of town. The Anaheim Chamber of Commerce recently sent a letter opposing the system.

Disneyland officials also had expressed reservations about light rail to transit officials when asked to comment on the proposal earlier this year.

Although he supports the overall concept, Mayor Tom Daly, an OCTA board member, said he believes it is too soon to be making judgments about light rail, either pro or con. He said he is likely to ask that plans be deferred until more research is completed. Councilwoman Shirley McCracken agrees with Daly.

“Many of us are not yet convinced that the technology being proposed is modern and appropriate enough for Orange County,” Daly said.

Still, Daly downplays the impact of his fellow council members’ opposition.

“This is not the ultimate vote,” he said. “Six months from now, the council could change its mind based on new proposals.”