Is CenterLine useful after all the cutbacks?

Its route is paved with good intentions, but the CenterLine light

rail system needs more than a noble goal to make it viable.

Costa Mesa officials have been at the forefront of CenterLine

light rail planning since day one. When it was envisioned, the light

rail system was going to be a regional transportation alternative

that would link a large part of Orange County and get people out of

their smog-producing cars. Political and economic pressures began to

mount from the cities of Fullerton, Anaheim and Orange, and the

regional transportation project was shelved.

The forward-thinking politicians of Irvine, Santa Ana and Costa

Mesa -- in large part, Councilwoman Libby Cowan -- revitalized

interest in a light rail system, arguing that a route connecting the

three cities would still cover a large portion of the county and

serve as a viable transportation tool. That 20-mile route was

expected to connect the Santa Ana Civic and Transportation centers,

the South Coast Metro area, Irvine Business Complex, John Wayne

Airport, UC Irvine and the Irvine Medical and Transportation centers.

Again, politics reared its ugly head and the proposed route was

further condensed to its present size of 9.3 miles, from the

transportation depot in Santa Ana to the John Wayne Airport, with a

stop at the Performing Arts station in Costa Mesa. The preferred

route, which was decided by the Orange County Transportation

Authority this month, bypasses South Coast Plaza -- with the closest

station on Anton Boulevard -- and could call for the demolition of

some of the businesses in the Lakes Pavilion business center.

While we applaud Costa Mesa leaders for their commitment to

innovative transportation alternatives, we urge them to take a step

back and realistically examine the project’s worth, especially the

portion that runs through the city they are elected to serve.

CenterLine is nine miles of rail line, averaging about $100

million per mile. It’s nine miles of rail line that connects only

four stations in three cities. It’s nine miles of rail line that

could cost business owners their livelihood.

Costa Mesa officials are making a billion-dollar wager that these

nine miles of light rail will reinvigorate countywide interest in the

project, when the past has shown that the appeal just isn’t there.