The Return of Rail in Orange County: Only the Beginning

As our county and region continues to grow and expand, it’s a no brainer that alternative modes of transportation would be sought after.

Therefore, it shouldn’t be a surprise that rail is back in the news here among the orange groves, and this time, I mean smack-dab in the middle of the orange groves.

Initiated in March, the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has begun a several month long Transit Alternatives Analysis (AA) for the Pacific Electric Right-of-Way / West Santa Ana Branch Corridor. This study is a large collaboration between SCAG, LACMTA (Metro) and OCTA, with SCAG hiring the consultants (AECOM Inc.), paying the bills ($1.8 million), and publishing the preferred alternative, which will then be presented to the Metro and OCTA Board of Directors.

In the AA, SCAG will determine whether or not potential transit service along the corridor is a viable option to improve intercounty travel, improve transit accessibility, support regional goals and reduce congestion at the same time. Here’s a little background information from SCAG’s fact sheet:

The Pacific Electric Right-of-Way (PE ROW) / West Santa Ana Branch Corridor is a railroad right-of-way that extends for approximately 20 miles between the City of Paramount in Los Angeles County and the City of Santa Ana in Orange County. The railroad corridor was once part of the Pacific Electric Railway, or Red Car, system that provided mass transit service to Southern California from 1901 to 1961. Much of the corridor has been abandoned and is not currently used for mass transit purposes.

SCAG goes on to elaborate on what they will be researching:

The AA will evaluate a broad range of alternatives, including bus rapid transit (BRT) with dedicated bus lanes, light rail transit (LRT), commuter rail, and high speed rail, along with “no-build” and Transportation Systems Management improvements.

As you can see on the map, the PE ROW runs through many OC cities, including Cypress, Anaheim, Stanton, Garden Grove, and Santa Ana, just to name a few. On the north end sits the Metro Blue line and Green line, while the Santa Ana Depot sit on the south end. Can you imagine the possibilities of having a quick, convenient transit connection between these destinations and many more? Well SCAG can! The final question is… can Orange County?

I know what you’re thinking. I’m beyond excited about the study and just the prospect that we may finally have an amazing connection to get to LA besides the morning and afternoon Metrolink trains and the pricey Surfliner, and thinking about what Orange County would say about this kills my dream a bit. But I digress… kind of.

On Thursday, April 8th, the OCTA Transit Committee (chaired by OC Board of Supervisors Chairwoman & District 1 Supervisor Janet Nguyen [shout out to Santa Ana since it’s the largest city in her district!]) featured a presentation by Kurt Brotche who gave an update on SCAG’s efforts to initiate the AA study and find a beneficial alternative.

To put it lightly, the committee was- “underwhelmed.”

Paul Glabb, Laguna Niguel Councilman (or as a friend told me: “the first wet blanket”), was the first to comment on the subject. He said that he “does not want to advocate for the agency to spend a large sum of money on the front end to study projects that are not practical or would be impossible to execute.”

C’mon Paul, how does this not seem practical? Well, it’s not like this corridor helped flourish Orange County’s most populous city and would now take commuters straight to the heart of Orange County’s Civic Center- oh wait, I forgot. This is where we only study practical projects like extending the 57 Freeway over and under the Santa Ana River and tunneling under Newport Boulevard.

Then, Chairwoman Nguyen commented that “the cities of Garden Grove and Santa Ana are concerned about an on-grade system; having an on-grade system in these cities would not move traffic.” She went on to say that the streets are already overcrowded and in dire need of repair and an on-grade system would impound more traffic onto the streets and require help from OCTA and the County to repave. She ended by adding that the cities are seeking underground systems so that traffic will move at a speed that will not affect neighborhoods.

At this point, it is important to note that Santa Ana Mayor & OCTA Director Miguel Pulido was not in attendance.

So let me get this straight- even though Santa Ana has planned their streetcar system to Garden Grove all AT-grade (nifty little video here), we definitely can’t have that for the PE ROW? Oh right, OC logic. It makes sense since the Santa Ana-Garden Grove streetcar will end at the major destination of Trask and Newhope.

Finally, Garden Grove Mayor & OCTA Director William Dalton spoke and said “when residents have a choice, there is a major concern and resistance to having transportation systems in heir neighborhoods, especially in their backyards.”

So what does this mean? Orange County’s ONLY fixed-guideway system lies in Santa Ana and Garden Grove, the major cities impacted by the PE ROW. Both Mayors (assuming Mayor Pulido agrees with Janet- who knows, try and find him and you can ask him then) antagonize the project; District Supervisor Nguyen criticizes the effects. Another director attacks the project.

In the end, the committee learned that SCAG will soon hold briefings with elected officials, the Technical Advisory Committee, and the Technical Steering Committee. Janet Nguyen volunteered to be on the Technical Steering Committee and to appoint someone in the event of her absence.

Will the PE ROW suffer the same fate as CenterLine? Will any projects related to the SCAG study get OCTA’s seal of approval? Will Mayor Pulido attend a meeting and speak on behalf of his residents who travel via buses for 2 hours each day from Santa Ana to the Blue Line to get to work? Only time will tell.

James Suazo is a contributing writer and full-time student at California State University, Long Beach. He is also a member of the Transit Advocates of Orange County and resides in Santa Ana. Tina Erikson contributed to this article.