The Little Rail Line That Couldn’t

Board members of the Orange County Transportation Authority were so enthusiastic about CenterLine three years ago, they gleefully interrupted each other trying to second a motion by Santa Ana Mayor Miguel A. Pulido to revive the stalled light-rail project.

Now the board is on the verge of killing it, perhaps for good.

Unable to secure $500 million in federal funds and facing a decline in political support, county transportation leaders will consider shelving the billion-dollar line Monday, at least temporarily, to study other transit possibilities.

If the board stops the 9.3-mile proposal, it will be the second time in four years the project has been halted and will represent a major setback for the agency, which began working on a light-rail system almost 15 years ago.

Ultimately, Monday’s decision could lead to formal cancellation of the beleaguered project once seen as a symbol of Orange County’s coming of age -- a 28-mile system that would stop at major destinations from Irvine to Fullerton.

“The board is going to have a lot to discuss,” said Arthur T. Leahy, OCTA’s chief executive officer, who was hired in part to help bring the rail plan to fruition. “We didn’t get federal money for CenterLine. We simply can’t afford to build it, so we need to decide what to do. That is the reality.”

Under the current plan, CenterLine would run from John Wayne Airport to the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center with a spur to Santa Ana College.

The line would pass through the South Coast Plaza area and proceed north on Bristol Street to the Santa Ana Civic Center. About half the project is elevated, and plans include a short tunnel in Costa Mesa.

OCTA had hoped to pay for roughly half the project with federal assistance, but the agency’s request for funding has not been supported by the county’s congressional delegation, except for Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove).

Authority officials planned to pay for the rest with $125 million in state money, $200 million in federal air quality grants, and $200 million from Measure M, the county’s sales tax for transportation projects. OCTA earmarked an additional $150 million in Measure M funds for operating costs.

Supporters heralded CenterLine as a much-needed advancement in mass transit for the growing county. Critics questioned the project’s high cost and doubted whether the system would live up to its ridership projections.

“I believe it is over” for CenterLine, said county Supervisor Bill Campbell, OCTA’s board chairman. “The trigger is no funding at the federal level. There could be a very clear majority on the board” for a change in direction.

The shift away from light rail was apparent Feb. 4, when an OCTA planning committee of seven members unanimously recommended that CenterLine be halted in favor of pursuing a bus rapid transit system along Bristol Street in Santa Ana.

Bus rapid transit is an express-style service with exclusive lanes or guideways for buses. Systems also can use city streets or more expensive elevated routes, much like commuter rail.

Supporters say bus rapid transit can be cheaper to build than light-rail lines and provide more flexibility when service needs to be added or reduced in an area. It is also viewed favorably by the Bush administration and key congressional leaders who help set priorities for transportation spending.

Among the committee members voting for the change were longtime CenterLine supporters -- Pulido, Buena Park Councilman Arthur C. Brown, and public member Gregory T. Winterbottom of Villa Park.

They join a number of CenterLine skeptics on the board such as Lake Forest Councilman Richard T. Dixon, Yorba Linda Councilman Mike Duvall, and Supervisors Campbell, Jim Silva and Chris Norby.

“The fixation on CenterLine has been long and costly,” Norby said. “We need to place our attention on places where the money can be better spent.”

Since 1993, OCTA has allocated about $63 million for light-rail planning, preliminary engineering, lobbying and public outreach programs.

Norby and other board members hope a decision to halt the project will open up the possibility of funding other transit options, such as improving Metrolink service and expanding bus service. At least $350 million in Measure M funds set aside for CenterLine could become available.

Board members have said that some of the money might be used for much needed highway improvements. But reallocating the money for roads might be difficult because it is committed under Measure M to mass transit. Any change would require voter approval.

The political shift away from light rail is a dramatic departure from the days when the OCTA board consistently cast unanimous votes for CenterLine matters, including its revival and major expenditures for design work.

“I’m really disappointed. We worked hard on light rail,” said Tim Keenan of Cypress, a former OCTA board member and CenterLine advocate. “Is Orange County ready for light rail? Yes. Will we need it in 20 years? Yes.”

Despite support for light rail in public opinion polls and among many elected officials, CenterLine has been battered over the years by community opposition along its proposed routes.

The original 28-mile line was shelved in early 2001 after it encountered stiff resistance from north Orange County cities. Some municipal officials felt that OCTA had left them out of the decision-making process.

Eight months later, Santa Ana, Costa Mesa and Irvine -- with OCTA’s support -- reintroduced a 20-mile version of the line. But it was eventually reduced to 11 miles to avoid Irvine neighborhoods with strong anti-CenterLine sentiment.

In June 2003, the remaining Irvine leg was narrowly rejected in a municipal election, forcing OCTA to shorten the route again, to 9.3 miles. Critics began calling it the line to nowhere.

“The public never did want it as opposed to the pseudo-support OCTA generated through polling and public education campaigns,” said John Kleinpeter, who organized the effort to defeat CenterLine in Irvine. “Now there might be money to do something else.”

But not everyone has given up on building a light-rail line in Orange County. Though Pulido voted as a transit committee member to consider bus rapid transit, he says the shift might only be temporary.

Some bus rapid transit systems are similar to light-rail lines, Pulido notes. If the bus route is configured properly, he says, it could provide the opportunity to convert it to a light-rail line in the future.