Santa Ana Is Third City Aboard New CenterLine

Three Orange County cities have pumped new life into the canceled CenterLine rail project, but transportation officials said Tuesday it will take years of study, public debate and decision-making to determine whether a $1-billion version of the system will ever be built.

CenterLine was revived late Monday when the Santa Ana City Council voted 4 to 2 to join Irvine and Costa Mesa in supporting the study of a 13-mile rail system connecting the three cities.

The cities’ endorsements represent a turnaround for the project just seven months after the Orange County Transportation Authority shelved a more ambitious proposal as political support crumbled. The original concept called for a $2.3-billion, 35-mile line from Irvine to Fullerton.

“Old CenterLine was just seen as an OCTA project. It suffered from an absence of support and partnerships,” said Arthur Leahy, the authority’s chief executive. “Now we have three cities backing it, and they know they will be closely involved. We are doing something with them, not something to them.”

The mayors of Irvine, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana will send Leahy a joint letter this week asking OCTA to study the tri-city line. The research will consider costs, environmental issues, technology, stations and potential ridership for the proposed route.

Leahy said OCTA’s board of directors will decide Monday whether to open the bid process for an engineering study, which could begin early next year.

However, officials said it could take two to three years of study, government review and environmental analysis before a decision is made on whether to build the line. Federal funding, which would pay as much as 75% of the project’s cost, also must be secured. Winning the support of communities along the rail line may be tough too. Irvine residents already have voiced displeasure with the route.

“Construction probably would not start for at least four years,” Leahy said. “If we can build it in eight years that would be very fast.”

As it is envisioned, the line would start at the Irvine Transportation Center and run along San Diego Creek Channel, past John Wayne Airport and the South Coast Metro area in Costa Mesa. An additional spur to UC Irvine is being considered.

The proposed route would cut north on Bristol Street, bending through the county’s government center and ending at the Santa Ana Transportation Center.

“We want to build something the citizens in Santa Ana, Irvine and Costa Mesa can be proud of,” Leahy said. “The key thing is the word ‘partnership.’ The three cities mark the start of this partnership.”

Leahy shelved the initial CenterLine proposal after community groups and municipal officials complained it would destroy neighborhoods, waste tax dollars and do little to reduce air pollution or traffic congestion. Some of that opposition remains.

A federally mandated study in 1997 indicated that light rail is among the least effective modes of transportation. Other transit experts and academics have said it is more costly and less flexible than bus service.

“I’m amazed that smart people still think that light rail will relieve traffic congestion, when OCTA’s own environmental impact report on the original CenterLine project said it will not relieve traffic congestion,” said John Kleinpeter of the No on CenterLine organization.

Supporters of the project contend that light-rail systems are cleaner, faster and carry more passengers than buses, which can be slowed by traffic. They also say the proposed line would go through populated neighborhoods, linking them with the county’s employment, education, and cultural centers.