Light Rail Planning: Suddenly, It’s Uphill

Facing more demands than they can fund, transit board members will have to make some hard choices before next month’s vote on the future of a controversial light rail system in Orange County.

Officials acknowledged at an Orange County Transportation Authority meeting Monday that some trade-offs may be necessary to keep the $1.5-billion CenterLine project moving forward, even as critics continue to argue that the project is a waste of money and will do little to alleviate traffic congestion.

With more than 25 turns mapped out on the suggested route, some at the meeting joked that “the anteater” might be a better name for the rail line.

Serious issues, though, remain unresolved.

The budget to build the entire 27-mile route does not include $175 million needed to widen busy city streets that would lose lanes to the rail line. Not funding the work may be a deal-breaker for light rail through Anaheim and Santa Ana, where officials have said they cannot support the project unless they are assured that traffic through their cities won’t be snarled.

Since OCTA doesn’t have that money in the budget, board members could shorten the route, said Dave Elbaum, the agency’s head of special projects.

Options presented to the board Monday included lopping off the northern segment of the line, stopping at either Disneyland or downtown Anaheim instead of going all the way into downtown Fullerton. Another possibility, officials said, would be to stop the line at John Wayne Airport in the south, which would result in the loss of $120 million that Irvine has offered if certain conditions are met.

“Essentially, what we heard today was that 30 days before we are supposed to vote, we will not be able to build the system they told us we could for the money we have,” said OCTA board member and county Supervisor Todd Spitzer. “Either we come up with nearly $200 million to do this road work, or we start finding a way to significantly shorten this system.”

Some board members expressed concern that the fight might get ugly in the coming weeks, with each of the six cities along the route looking for a way to get what it wants.

Already, board members have questioned the wisdom of taking Irvine’s $120 million if it means the south leg of the system has to be built first, as city officials have requested. That segment, said board member Sarah L. Catz, who has been a strong supporter of light rail, has the lowest ridership projections.

The Dec. 13 vote will “draw a line on the map,” said OCTA Chief Executive Officer Lisa Mills, who downplayed the importance of the board’s upcoming decision. Mills told board members who questioned whether they had enough time to study all the issues that they will have many more decisions to make down the road.

This summer, transit officials said the December vote would nail down an alignment for the route as well as allocate about $30 million for initial design and further environmental review. But on Monday, OCTA spokesman Bill Hodge said a decision about initial design wouldn’t come until April, after more environmental work is done on whatever route is chosen.

A choice not to build the system at all could also be made, he said.

Jack Mallinckrodt, a vocal opponent of light rail for the county, said the time has come for board members to stop making incremental decisions that get increasingly expensive.

“I’m concerned,” he said. “You shouldn’t put off the build/no build decision until it’s too late, and you’ve already spent so much money that you’re committed to it.”