Rail System Right on Track

Which comes first for the success of a rail route: waiting for an area to become well-populated and in need of a rail line to transport residents--or putting the rail line in with the expectation that it will help promote growth and provide the ridership?

Well, in Orange County the delay in developing light-rail transportation may have helped solve that dilemma. The routes under study by the Orange County Transportation Authority run through a well-populated but still growing corridor.

So, in addition to filling an existing need, a new line could spur even greater growth and produce more riders to help ensure the corridor’s success.

Obviously, that’s a big “could” that has been under study by planners for more than a decade, since voters in 1990 decided the question of whether to even consider a light-rail line by approving Measure M. That added a special half-cent sales tax for 20 years for transportation improvements that included $340 million for a rail system.

Ever since then, county transportation officials have been wrestling with the design and location of a light-rail system as a transportation alternative to autos and buses on traffic-clogged freeways and surface streets that face eventual gridlock without some sort of relief.

The answer from OCTA planners is the proposed $2.3-billion CenterLine light-rail system that will run 28 miles from Fullerton to Irvine. The backbone of the system will take the rail line through the center of the county to connect its business, residential, educational and recreational centers.

It runs through areas containing more than half of the county’s work force and about one-third of its population. And it ties together not only central cities and sections such as downtown Fullerton, Anaheim and the Civic Center in Santa Ana but also the Anaheim resort area and its sports complexes, the MainPlace/Santa Ana mall, South Coast Plaza, the Irvine Business Complex, UC Irvine and the Irvine Spectrum.

The OCTA board now appears ready to make some critical decisions.

On Jan. 22 it will hold a public hearing on the environmental impact of potential routes and get an indication of the level of community support for and opposition to the rail line.

On Feb. 15 the board is scheduled to select a final alignment and start the line down the track by picking the first of four segments for further design. The timetable calls for design work to be completed in 2003 and construction started in 2004; passengers should begin boarding by 2008.

Wisely, the system is designed to be built in segments, so there is flexibility in the program. Some of the early route planning has been controversial, but to date OCTA seems to have recognized community concerns and been willing to make changes to accommodate them. But while planners feel confident that their concepts and figures on ridership and development and operation income are solid, they still must make a convincing case. They must do so not only for some critics who don’t see rail as an economical or workable alternative but also for the overall community.

Planners haven’t said yet what segment would be built first, but whatever portion is selected as the first part of the system should serve an area of high ridership. The line must also have adequate park-and-ride facilities and feeder bus lines to ensure maximum ridership. And the system must connect to rail lines in neighboring Los Angeles County so that a truly regional rail network is created.

The car is still king in Orange County and the rest of Southern California, but there are many residents who can’t afford to own a car and remain dependent on public transportation. And how many more motorists in the future will be content to creep along at freeway speeds of 20 mph and less as traffic becomes increasingly slow?

There is growing evidence in recent years that many motorists can be coaxed out of their cars and into other modes of transit. If trains go where people want to go, and they’re convenient to get to and use, rail can be a real alternative.