Centerline will require resident input

Lolita Harper

Councilwoman Libby Cowan said she wants to hear what residents and

business owners have to say about a proposed Centerline Light Rail

project touted to revolutionize transportation in Orange County by

connecting the city to heavily traveled transportation hubs in Santa

Ana and Irvine.

Cowan, who represents the city during negotiations with the Orange

County Transportation Authority, said it is time to gather public

input on the proposed rail system, as the process is moving closer to

becoming reality. She said there are about six to eight proposed

scenarios and officials want to gather public opinion to narrow the

field.

The Centerline Light Rail system is an 11.4-mile line set to

stretch between UC Irvine and the Santa Ana Regional Transportation

Center -- running through Costa Mesa and stopping in the South Coast

Plaza business area. County transportation officials say about

415,000 residents live within two miles of the line and that 340,000

jobs are in that same area. The $1.5-billion project is in the

preliminary engineering stage, which consists of plotting different

routes, defining architecture and urban design, setting real estate

policy, surveying the environmental impacts and gathering public

input.

Only about 1 1/2 miles of the line would run through Costa Mesa,

but the city’s involvement in the project is key, Cowan has said. The

city certainly can’t support its own light rail system, but in the

same vein, the other cities cannot carry out the project without

Costa Mesa’s approval.

While the mayors of Santa Ana and Irvine support a Centerline

project, the routes have been heavily debated, especially in South

County. Most recently, the Orange County Board of Supervisors changed

Irvine’s proposed terminal from the Irvine Transportation Center to

UC Irvine -- a move that transportation officials say will save them

millions and help ensure more grant funding. Resulting changes have

shortened the proposed route from 20 to 11.4 miles.

Cowan, who works for the city of Irvine, said resident opposition

was the cause of some route changes and Irvine voters will ultimately

decide where the line runs in their city.

“Irvine has agreed to whatever the preliminary engineering

[process] comes up with and then will put that one the ballot,” Cowan

said.

While Irvine and Santa Ana seem to be looking at elevated rail

lines, Cowan said Costa Mesa transportation officials prefer an

underground model because it would have the least amount of impact on

the retail and arts center in the South Coast area.

Costa Mesa leaders are scheduled to gather resident input about

the rail system during the Nov. 18 City Council meeting, Cowan said.

Rail costs depend on the technology used and whether the lines run

above or below ground, county officials said. Preliminary estimates

range from $75 million to $85 million per mile, with operating costs

of about $14 million. Funding is expected from a variety of sources,

including Measure M, state and federal funding and air-quality

grants.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.