Residents Urge More Options for Railway

A majority of residents who attended a workshop to discuss a proposed railway linking Irvine to Fullerton rejected two ideas on the drawing board, saying the plans lacked originality and efficiency.

The workshop held Wednesday was hosted by the Orange County Transportation Authority, which is trying to gauge community support for two alternatives for the 28-mile corridor: A $1.3-billion ground-level rail system or a $1.8-billion elevated rail system.

The seven-mile portion of the rail that would run through Irvine is expected to follow either the San Diego Creek Channel or the San Diego Freeway, according to a county plan.

A majority of the more than 30 Irvine residents who attended the workshop said they favored the elevated-rail system, but said they opposed both plans as not being innovative enough for their master-planned community.

Some critics said the street-level system was too dangerous while others said a system 17 feet off the ground would be an eyesore. Alan Snodgrass, a member of the transportation and infrastructure commission, said the two systems were too costly.

Orange County is one of three regions nationwide with a population of more than 2 million but without an urban rail system, according to OCTA representatives. The other two areas are Houston and Minneapolis / St. Paul.

The network proposed for Orange County would drop riders off at several places, including Disneyland, Edison International Field, South Coast Plaza, John Wayne Airport, the Irvine Spectrum and the downtown centers of Fullerton and Santa Ana.

Supporters point to projections that growth in Orange County in the coming years will lead to more than 2 million additional daily trips in the region by 2015, causing greater traffic woes on the freeways.

Dinah Minteer, OCTA’s urban rail manager, said underground tracks were not considered.

OCTA workshops will also be held in six other cities expected to be affected by the proposed rail.