A nowhere plan runs off its rails

STEVE SMITH

In life, there are certain things we know to be true, things besides

death and taxes that are as certain as the sun shining tomorrow.

First, cats don’t fetch. Sure, you may find one or two here and

there that have completely lost touch with their heritage and the

decorum they must maintain, but by and large, if you throw a stick to

a cat and yell “Fetch!” all you’re going to get is a stare and a “You

must be joking” from the cat.

Second, real estate, particularly in Southern California and

especially in Orange County, is the best investment the average Joe

can make. Despite the dire warnings of a looming burst in the

housing-market bubble by a few hand-wringing economists, real estate

is still king.

Third, people in these parts won’t ride trains to get to and from

work and sure as heck won’t ride them to go shopping. No way. Never.

Here’s the qualifier: Just like the odd cat that can be trained to

bring back the stick, there are a few people who will ride the train

from their homes to work and back.

But there aren’t enough to support CenterLine, the train to

nowhere that almost swallowed a billion of your tax dollars.

Over the past few weeks, I have conducted an informal,

unscientific study of train habits of Inland Empire commuters.

Observing the arriving trains at the Santa Ana train station at

around 8:20 a.m. over the past few weeks, it is easy to see the

result of years of strategic urban planning. The crowd of people

exiting from the 8:20 Metrolink seems to be big, but it is not.

Compared with the potential ridership, it is a drop in the ocean. The

last proposed design was going to have the train from John Wayne

Airport to downtown Santa Ana. Costa Mesa would have been greatly

impacted, positively or negatively, depending on your point of view.

All of which brings me to the happy news that the CenterLine

light-rail project is almost as dead a deal as the El Toro airport.

In case you missed it, this barrel of pork was initially promoted

as the start to the rail system that Orange County needs to handle

over the next few decades.

From the start, it was ill-conceived, and the process was poorly

executed. Whittled down to only 9.3 miles, the Orange County

Transportation Authority also whittled down the budget to “only” $500

million. But with most projects this size, I’d bet my 401(k) that the

$500 million would be exceeded in no time flat.

Costa Mesa Mayor Alan Mansoor has been a critic of the proposal.

So when the transportation authority recently announced that it

should be dropped in favor of a revamped bus program, he was not

unhappy. Hooray for Mansoor.

The enhanced bus system, with limited stops, traffic-signal

priority and dedicated lanes, would operate on Bristol Street between

Santa Ana and John Wayne Airport.

There’s more to the decision to put the CenterLine project on the

back burner than just logistical or budgetary considerations.

The death of CenterLine should send a message to all

transportation planners that, for better or worse, we are hooked on

cars. We need transportation that has the rubber meeting the road.

That’s not to say that autos and buses are a good thing. It’s just

reality. This is Southern California, Orange County, Costa Mesa, and

people are car crazy -- so car crazy that they’re willing to drive

146 miles a day round trip from Banning to get to jobs in Santa Ana.

Dealing a death blow to CenterLine is not enough. Politicians and

bureaucrats have to stop trying to ram rail options down the throats

of millions of people who’d rather be in their cars, for however long

it takes to get from point A to point B.

In the end, our solutions will be more efficient.

* STEVE SMITH is a Costa Mesa resident and a freelance writer.

Readers may leave a message for him on the Daily Pilot hotline at

(714) 966-4664 or send story ideas to onthetown2005@aol.com.