Anaheim Council Votes to Fight Light Rail Plan

ANAHEIM —  In a groundswell against a proposed light rail system for Orange County, a majority of Anaheim City Council members say they will oppose the so-called CenterLine at tonight’s scheduled council meeting.

Citing concerns that the system is too expensive for the amount of congestion relief it will provide, three of the five council members said they believe light rail should not be built anywhere in Orange County. The stance comes even after Orange County Transportation Authority officials dramatically scaled back plans for what was to be a 27-mile corridor running between Irvine and Fullerton, in large part because of opposition from some core cities.

The concern proved warranted with the votes of several key cities in the last few weeks. The Santa Ana City Council voted to oppose light rail Nov. 15. Last week, the city of Orange called on the transit agency to terminate the CenterLine project, a week after the City Council voted to oppose it.

Transit officials say they believe the project is still viable, despite the defections of cities that had once been at the heart of the proposed line.