Scaled-Back Rail Proposal Is Unveiled

Orange County transit authorities formally unveiled a scaled-back light rail system at a public hearing Monday that drew more than 200 people who were dramatically divided over whether the system is visionary or an outlandish waste of money.

The meeting was the last hurdle before a critical Dec. 13 vote on the future of light rail in the county. Orange County Transportation Authority board members are being asked to choose an initial operating segment for the train as well as approve funds to get the system’s design off the ground.

The route recommended Monday morning was far shorter than the $1.5-billion, 27-mile route between Fullerton and Irvine that transit officials earlier this month said would be the best system within budget.

Lisa Mills, the Transportation Authority’s chief executive officer, acknowledged late last week that fierce opposition from the Santa Ana City Council made such a system unworkable. Instead, transit officials are urging board members to begin with an 11-mile segment of track from the Irvine Spectrum to South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, holding out the possibility that central cities would later come on board.

The truncated system--which doesn’t come anywhere near such popular destinations as Disneyland and UCI Medical Center--raises many new questions about the proposal.

“This was supposed to be the CenterLine. It was supposed to go through our most populated cities,” Supervisor Todd Spitzer later said. “This looks more like the ‘end of the line.’ ”

News that the system now under consideration may not include cities in the heart of the county was greeted with excitement from other areas eager to fill the void.

“We recognize surface streets can only handle so much traffic and freeways can only be widened so much,” said Ralph H. Bauer, a Huntington Beach councilman. “West Orange County would like to be considered for the next phase of light rail.”

But some who have been involved in the current planning process for years said that even after 18 months of intense study they still have serious reservations about the proposal. Robyn Uptegraff, executive director of Santa Ana’s planning and building agency, said that in addition to concerns about the impact of light rail on their city, officials there also question whether transit officials will be allowed to consider only a fraction of the system once on the drawing board and still qualify for federal funds being counted on for the entire project.

Still, the shortened route seemed to have little impact on the comments of most of the 60-odd speakers at Monday’s meeting, which was so jammed that some sat on the floor or watched on a remote feed from an adjacent room.

Passionate appeals were made to transit board members by both sides, from a 9-year-old Santa Ana boy who said he and his family wanted the train even though their home is in its path to an elderly low-income Anaheim woman who insisted little thought had been given to seniors like her.

“I call this the vision thing,” said Bev Perry, a councilwoman from Brea. “We have to look for the future, not just today. You’ve got to start somewhere.”

Some rail opponents, however, said their vision of a rail system includes traffic tie-ups and parking problems as rail lines block many city streets.

“Once you get past the smooth talk and realize it will cost $1 billion to make traffic worse and air quality worse, most people get downright hostile,” said Bill Ward, who has lobbied against light rail since the start.

The light rail concept has been a contentious issue for years, intensely heating up in recent months as key project milestones were reached. Pro-rail factions argue that the county is running out of space to widen freeways and roads and desperately needs transportation choices in the future.

Rail foes say the train system will make traffic worse on already busy streets while doing little to get commuters out of their automobiles.

As speakers on either side addressed the board, their supporters applauded, energizing the normally sedate transit meeting.

The cities of Santa Ana and Irvine were well represented, and both groups were mostly pleased with the latest turn of events, although for very different reasons.

Irvine elected officials, who had offered to turn over $120 million intended for an Irvine Spectrum monorail if their city were included, now seem likely to get their wish.

“We are very excited about being in the first phase,” said Mike Ward, an Irvine councilman and transit board member. “I’m sorry that Santa Ana voted to do ‘no build,’ but I think they will change their minds when they see how great the system works for us.”

The possibility of such a train system was first put to voters as part of Measure M, the half-cent sales tax approved in 1990. It gathered momentum in recent years as transit officials studied the issue more closely and set up goals of planning and building such a system.

“I hope that there will be a light rail system when I grow up and want to take the train to school at UCI,” said 9-year-old Roberto Alatorre of Santa Ana, whose parents let him skip school to attend the meeting. “Please think about me and your children and your grandchildren and other children when you vote on this project.”

Thelma Powers of Anaheim sees things differently.

“I’ve heard people talk about business and shopping, but I haven’t heard people talk about disabled people, low-income people, elderly people,” said Powers, who said she felt the proposed system would do her little good. “I don’t need the rail to go shopping because I can always put that off to another day.”