Rail Line Decision Delayed

The Irvine City Council on Tuesday postponed a decision on whether to shorten the CenterLine project by six miles to prevent the proposed light-rail line from going through neighborhoods strongly opposed to the project.

Mayor Larry Agran, who wanted to reschedule the matter, said city officials need to discuss the revision with the Orange County Transportation Authority. The OCTA board of directors has notified the city that it has serious concerns about the truncated line that must be resolved before the authority can support it.

Agran and Councilman Mike Ward want to shorten the 18-mile route and eliminate the need to build an elevated portion of the line through the Woodbridge, Oak Creek and West Park neighborhoods. Residents of those communities are planning a ballot initiative against CenterLine.

Instead of ending the route at the Irvine Transportation Center as now planned, Agran and Ward say the Irvine Civic Center should be the terminus. Once the system is built, city officials say, the system can be extended later to the transportation center via another route.

On Monday, the OCTA board voted to notify Irvine officials that it has concerns about the potential for traffic congestion in the civic center, increased costs for OCTA and the elimination of a key transit hub as a destination.

If the line must shortened, the Irvine Business Complex or UC Irvine might be cheaper alternatives to the civic center, OCTA board members say.

They also cited the potential loss of a rail maintenance yard at the former El Toro Marine Corps Air Station. They say the change would force OCTA to consider building the yard in Santa Ana, where there is potential opposition to the facility.

The Irvine council rescheduled the issue to its Sept. 10 meeting. If approved, the city would recommend shortening of CenterLine to OCTA, which would consider adopting the change.

Under the current plan, CenterLine would run from the Irvine Transportation Center to South Coast Plaza before heading north on Bristol Street to the Santa Ana Transportation Center.