CenterLine May Skirt Mall, Go Underground

Striking a critical compromise with Costa Mesa civic leaders, Orange County transit planners now recommend that the proposed CenterLine light-rail system skirt South Coast Plaza and go underground for a short distance on Avenue of the Arts.

The changes represent a major concession for the Orange County Transportation Authority, whose initial elevated route faced stiff opposition from elected officials and an alliance of influential business interests, including C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, the owner of the Costa Mesa mall.

The dispute had threatened to undermine support for CenterLine on the Costa Mesa City Council, which had helped to resurrect the project after OCTA shelved it almost three years ago.

“I’m really excited about the agreements and the progress we have made,” said Arthur T. Leahy, OCTA’s chief executive officer. “In future years as they build up offices and retail, CenterLine will be right in the center of activity in Costa Mesa.”

The revisions are part of a recommended alignment for CenterLine that is scheduled to be presented Monday to Orange County Transportation Authority’s board of directors. The agency released details of the overall route last week.

Approval would clear the way for further planning, final environmental studies and attempts to secure federal and state funding for roughly half the project, estimated at $966 million.

As now envisioned, the CenterLine route would begin at John Wayne Airport and proceed through the South Coast Metro and South Coast Plaza areas of Costa Mesa.

Trains would head north to Santa Ana on Bristol Street, east onto Santa Ana Boulevard and loop through the Civic Center area. The final stop would be the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center.

In addition to the new underground segment for Costa Mesa, OCTA wants to lengthen the line from 8.5 to 9.3 miles to add a stop at Santa Ana College, which has about 39,000 students and staff members. College officials have been adamant about getting light-rail service.

The line would not go directly to South Coast Plaza, one of the largest shopping centers on the West Coast. Instead, the mall would be served by a station on Bristol between Sunflower Avenue and MacArthur Boulevard, requiring shoppers to walk unless a shuttle is provided.

CenterLine also would not go directly into John Wayne Airport. The proposed stop, which must be approved by the county Board of Supervisors, is in a parking area between MacArthur and the terminal, again requiring a walk for travelers.

OCTA spokesman Ted Nguyen said there have been preliminary discussions about providing shuttle service for the South Coast Plaza area. At John Wayne Airport, he said, the walk would take only a few minutes and a pedestrian bridge has been proposed for the elevated station.

“The fine-tuning will occur after the board approves the route,” Nguyen said.

A key hurdle for OCTA was the alignment through the county’s cultural and retail hub, which includes South Coast Plaza, the South Coast Metro area, the Orange County Performing Arts Center, hotels and office buildings.

The authority had planned to run elevated tracks, heading south, on Bristol Street past South Coast Plaza and then east onto Anton Street, where it would pass the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Costa Mesa business and civic leaders wanted an underground route, saying that acquiring prime commercial property for the right of way for an elevated line would be expensive and reduce parking for shoppers. They also said that an elevated line would detract from the aesthetics of the theater district, South Coast Plaza and future development.

OCTA officials feared that placing the system underground for half a mile would add $250 million to the cost and hurt the proposal’s chances for federal funding.

Over several months, both sides negotiated a compromise that revised the route and shortened the underground section to roughly one-fifth of a mile. Those changes reduced the additional cost to an estimated $50 million.

Under the agreement, the train would head south on Bristol, turn east on Sunflower, and then south on Avenue of the Arts, where the tracks would be placed underground for about 1,100 feet. The line would then return to ground level and turn east onto Anton on its way to the airport.

“We are very happy with this. I hope this is what the board approves,” said Paul Freeman, a spokesman for C. J. Segerstrom & Sons. “When we started our discussions, there were some major differences between us.”