Light Rail Project Revived in O.C.

Dusting off the CenterLine project eight months after it was shelved, the Orange County Transportation Authority on Monday unveiled a specific route for study: a 20-mile rail system through three cities including optional links to UC Irvine and Santa Ana College.

The OCTA board of directors unanimously approved the line’s basic layout along with other steps that could lead to a $30-million to $40-million preliminary engineering study of the route by early next year.

So enthusiastic were the 15 board members that many interrupted each other trying to second the CenterLine motion made by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, an OCTA board member who helped resurrect the project.

“This is a tremendous opportunity,” Pulido told his colleagues. “Where do we want to go as a society? How do we leave a better place for those who follow after us? In the future, light rail is one of those things.”

But critics questioned the need for a rail system and noted that similar projects throughout the nation have run wildly over budget and often failed to attract the projected ridership.

“Light rail is like crab grass,” said Bill Wood of Drivers for Highway Safety, which has been active in county transportation issues. “Once it gets started, it’s hard to stop.”

The CenterLine route was brought back to life several months ago by Pulido and mayors Larry Agran of Irvine and Libby Cowan of Costa Mesa, who expressed interest in linking their neighboring cities with a rail line. They met repeatedly with OCTA Chief Executive Arthur Leahy.

Leahy had canceled the original 35-mile project in February as community and political support collapsed. Community leaders and elected officials complained that the project would destroy neighborhoods, waste tax dollars and do little to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution.

During the last two weeks, however, the Irvine, Costa Mesa and Santa Ana city councils formally recommended that OCTA reconsider the project and undertake a preliminary engineering study for a tri-city line that could cost more than $1 billion.

“Support, agreement and a good concept are keys to successful projects,” Leahy said before the vote. “Three cities coming forward begins to achieve the basic conditions for success. This looks to be a strong project.”

The route under consideration runs from the Irvine Transportation Center along the San Diego Creek Channel to the Irvine Spectrum and Irvine Medical Center. It proceeds northwest to John Wayne Airport and the Irvine Business Complex.

In Costa Mesa, the line passes near the Orange County Performing Arts Center and South Coast Plaza before turning north up Bristol Street. At Santa Ana Boulevard, the route bends to the east and proceeds to Ross Street, where it turns north again to Civic Center Boulevard.

The line then passes through the county seat before ending at the Santa Ana Transportation Center. The proposal includes optional spurs to UC Irvine and Santa Ana College, which serve upward of 55,000 students. Without those links, the route is about 13 miles.

Though not a formal study, OCTA officials have projected that the proposed route has the potential to carry 40,000 to 45,000 passengers a day. They note that the line would pass through many of the county’s cultural, commercial and educational centers as well as Santa Ana, which is one of the most densely populated areas in Southern California.

But at Monday’s board meeting, CenterLine opponents questioned whether the project would be as popular as predicted. Many light rail systems around the country, they said, have cost 50% to 100% more to build than estimated while ridership often has fallen far short of official estimates.

“The cold facts do not support the Utopian goals promised by light rail systems,” Wood said.

Others, such as Dave Mootchnik of Irvine, asked OCTA board members if they would let voters make the final decision on CenterLine as the Irvine City Council has offered.

In addition to selecting a proposed route, the board directed OCTA staff to begin the process for hiring environmental and engineering consultants for the project. If a preliminary engineering study is approved next year, it could take at least two years to finish.