CenterLine an idea needed now and later

Frank Forbath and Barry Christensen

Geoff West’s Daily Pilot commentary on Oct. 17, “Halfway railway

makes no headway in solving transportation woes,” demands an answer.

Certainly, the writer had a few partially defensible points -- though

he depended extensively upon terms such as ill-advised, monstrosity,

boondoggle, fiasco, white elephant, etc. -- but there are even more

persuasive arguments for the CenterLine light rail. Some comments on

his words:

“Light rail systems never come close to ridership projections,”

West wrote. The Metro Rail Blue Line (from Los Angeles to Long Beach)

is at 70,000 riders daily, far beyond projections, and is the No. 1

rail line in nation. The Gold Line (Los Angeles to Pasadena) -- a

14-mile line -- had more than 70,000 riders on its recent opening

day, which is twice the projections. It is at 20,000 daily riders and

is well on its way to meeting ridership expectations. The Green Line

is at 34,000 per day and should steadily increase as the short stub

directly to Los Angeles International Airport is funded and

constructed.

West also writes that light rail systems “have never covered

operating costs from fare revenues.” Here, he is correct, but note

that operating cost per mile of freeways or roadways (including

maintenance, resurfacing, police patrol, etc.) is much more than that

of rail, per an earlier in-depth report in Time magazine. Further

note that Los Angeles County’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority

finds that operating cost per passenger, per mile for rail lines is

significantly less than for metro buses. Buses seem to be West’s

preferred method of public transportation.

“Construction costs ... have always exceeded even most pessimistic

projections,” West wrote. Salt Lake City’s first light rail line

opened a year early and $23 million under budget, carrying 19,000

boarders daily after four months instead of the projected 14,000.

Note that in referring to light rail construction costs, CenterLine

can be considered central Orange County’s “Railroad Boulevard.” It

will serve similar numbers of riders and destinations as a

much-needed additional north-south artery. A new boulevard through

central Orange County could not be built for less than the cost of

CenterLine.

Believe “if you build it, they (other city segments) will come?”

Numerous cities, throughout the western and northern portions of the

county, have banded together to study expansion of CenterLine. Note

that Dallas light rail started with 11 miles; then outlying areas

soon demanded extensions, with the line totaling 34 miles after

current construction, and plans for 59 miles more by 2010.

West asks, “How many of our children will be around to make the

decision on expansion?” Importantly, we need to take the long view on

infrastructure, for not only ourselves but for our children and

grandchildren and for the young, poor, frail and elderly of each

generation. We should not continue focusing on the interests of the

wealthy of Newport Beach and Irvine, as West discusses.

“CenterLine ... makes no sense at all ... for O.C.

transportation,” West concludes. Orange County and all Southern

California will continue to grow, in spite of the wishes of slow

growth advocates. The area edges toward a state of traffic gridlock.

A Texas Transportation Institute study reported two and a half years

ago that the Los Angeles-Orange County area again topped the list of

nation’s 20 most traffic-chocked regions. Note, however, when a

region adopts fixed transportation lines, investors and developers

historically are attracted to build high-density housing, retail

stores, restaurants, workplaces, day-care centers and recreation and

entertainment complexes near them. Investors are less inclined to

build along bus routes, which often are moved with time.

Fortunately, the board of the Orange County Transportation

Authority voted 9 to 2 on Tuesday to proceed with CenterLine study.

Earlier, the Costa Mesa City Council voted 5 to 0, and more recently,

4 to 1, in favor of continued participation in CenterLine.

* FRANK FORBATH is a Costa Mesa resident, and BARRY CHRISTENSEN of

Fullerton is the chairman of the Rail Advocates of Orange County.