Orange County Light Rail Plan Advances

Transit officials voted Monday to move ahead with plans for a light rail system that some cities fear may turn into a billion-dollar mass transit blunder.

The Orange County Transportation Authority voted to finish the environmental impact report on a 27-mile rail line, slated to snake through the county’s business and residential cores, and to study the proposed first segment, a 12-mile link from Irvine to Costa Mesa.

Still, the agency’s decision to move ahead with more studies and reports fell far short of its initial goal: to cast the deciding vote on creation of the $1.5-billion CenterLine light rail system between Fullerton and Irvine.

County Supervisor Thomas W. Wilson, chairman of the board, said the action nevertheless sends a message that light rail is destined to be in Orange County’s future.

Wilson disagreed with critics who suggested that improving freeways and bus service would be a more effective way to relieve traffic gridlock. He called them “Band-Aid” solutions that have failed in the past.

Still, the agency’s revamped plan followed a month of retreat prompted by the staunch opposition of Santa Ana and other communities along the CenterLine route.

As part of the measure passed Monday, the transit board will continue to explore alternative routes and technologies for the rail line in an attempt to win over doubters. The studies approved by the board, expected to cost about $1 million, should be completed by July. Even if ultimately approved, construction on the scaled-back project wouldn’t begin until 2004 at the earliest, agency officials said.