CenterLine plans scrapped -- for now

Alicia Robinson

The Orange County Transportation Authority will take a hard look at

the future of rapid transit, but it won’t include the CenterLine

light-rail line -- at least for now.

Transportation authority board members voted Monday to back away

from plans for CenterLine and instead consider other options,

specifically one including a bus rapid transit system that could use

the Bristol Street leg of the CenterLine route.

Officials have been studying a light-rail system since 1991 and to

date have spent $63 million on the project, which ended as a 9.3-mile

route from Santa Ana through Costa Mesa to John Wayne Airport.

Congress chose in November to deny the rail line $483 million in

funding, which led a transportation authority board subcommittee on

Feb. 4 to recommend looking at other options. Up to $532 million in

funding has already been secured and some of that could be shifted to

other transportation projects.

The transportation agency will study converting the light-rail

project to another rapid-transit system, but board members made sure

to include options besides a bus-based system. A 9.3-mile bus rapid

transit route was estimated to cost $80 million to $100 million,

versus $121 million for CenterLine.

A bus rapid transit line that uses the light-rail route had been

the recommended option, but some in the public criticized that idea

as too costly and too similar to the light-rail plan that never took

off.

“I oppose the bus rapid transit,” Darrell Nolta said from the

audience. “I believe it’s CenterLine warmed over.”

While residents and some transportation authority board members

have referred to CenterLine as “dead,” others took pains Monday to

indicate they’re only putting light-rail service on ice, to be thawed

at an unknown future date.

“I do think that there will be a point in time where Orange County

has a light-rail system,” Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva said.

Before CenterLine is taken up again, however, it may need a major

public relations campaign. Since its inception, the project was

plagued by a lack of support.

The route was supposed to go through Irvine, but the city dropped

out after a majority of its residents in 2003 voted not to

participate. Some in the business community feared negative effects

from the rail line -- for example, South Coast Plaza magnates the

Segerstroms were concerned that an above-ground line stopping near

the shopping center would encourage people to park there free and

ride CenterLine to places that charge for parking, such as

Disneyland.

The lack of federal funding in November was the final blow. While

board members know they won’t move ahead with CenterLine now, they

haven’t determined their future direction.

It’s hard to say how the ultimate outcome will benefit Costa Mesa

because there are so many unanswered questions right now, Costa Mesa

Mayor Gary Monahan said. Monahan represents the city on the

transportation board.

“CenterLine’s not necessarily dead, but there’s a lot of work to

be done to determine if it’s where we’re going to end up,” he said.

Transportation staff members will bring the board more information

on various options in June.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers government and politics. She may be

reached at (714) 966-4626 or by e-mail at

[email protected].