Clang! CenterLine Jarred Again as Orange Votes No

Like a train slowly buckling off its tracks, a proposed plan for a rail line through the county met yet another setback this week when the Orange City Council voted unanimously to oppose the project.

The move came a week after Santa Ana voted to reject the 27-mile light-rail line from Irvine to Fullerton.

The CenterLine, as it is called, is part of a larger 87-mile countywide rail system transportation officials envisioned in 1991.

Proponents of the project tout it as a mass transportation solution for a fast-growing area that is heavily dependent on cars but running out of space to build or widen roads.

Opponents aren’t so sure.

“There has been no real evaluation on how this will impact our communities,” Orange Mayor Joanne Coontz said Thursday. “Our concern is that it takes money away from other important transportation projects in the county.”

Coontz introduced the motion to oppose the CenterLine, expected to cost $1.5 billion, during a council meeting late Tuesday.

Citing strong resistance from communities on CenterLine’s route, Orange County Transportation Authority officials earlier this week unveiled a scaled-back version of the project.

The smaller, 11-mile segment of track would transport passengers between the Irvine Spectrum and South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa and cost close to $1 billion.

It falls short of serving such destinations as Disneyland and UCI Medical Center in Orange, but leaves open the option for other cities to join the system later.

But Coontz said Orange will also lobby against the shorter rail line. The city is drafting a letter it plans to send to the OCTA Board of Directors next week enumerating the city’s concerns.

“We are trying to let them know why a rail system is not a good idea,” she said.

Coontz said a long-term rail project would have unforeseen financial and environmental impact on all residents.

“We would like to see a better organizational structure that allows direct oversight by all the cities impacted,” she said.

The transportation board will meet Dec. 13 to vote on whether to approve further studies of the project.