Anaheim Fixed Guideway

It’s not everyday that a City launches a website dedicated solely to the transit options available, whether they be bus or rail.

It’s certainly not a normal day when an Orange County City launches a website dedicated solely to the transit options available, whether they be bus or rail, or in this case, rapid buses, high-speed rail, and monorails.

The City of Anaheim has recently launched a new website called AConnext, highlighting the future of transit in the Resort Area, as well as providing information for options currently in place, such as OCTA, Metrolink, Amtrak, and Anaheim Resort Transit (ART). The website serves as a one stop shop for residents and transit geeks alike to find all the information they need related to the new and upcoming projects that are sure to excite any diehard transit fans, along with the average businessman looking for ways to get around the Resort Area without driving. read more→

Anaheim's about to blow OCTA and local funds on 3.5 miles to serve a handful of stops between Disneyland and the new Anaheim Station area (named Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC)).

According to the OC Register, the city considers this Go Local project as a solution to relieve the congestion on their 8-lane-wide local roads. Their options include:

• Increasing bus traffic in existing lanes.
• Building dedicated lanes for more buses.
• An elevated monorail (25-40 passengers per car, 30 mph)
• An elevated people mover (80-100 passengers per car, 20 mph)
• A low-speed magnetic-levitation train (150 passengers, 30 mph)

The article then proceeds to do its pitch for a monorail and notes that Anaheim really wants to build an elevated system. I myself noted that Anaheim's Guideway estimated construction cost of up to $500 million would have kept OCTA's Bravo! rapid bus system in operation for more than 40 years. How Anaheim will strong-arm the rest of the county into paying for this is beyond me:

So far, $5.9 million from the Orange County Transportation Authority 'Go Local' funds and $100,000 in city funds have paid for planning and design. Riding the monorail or other elevated system would be kept relatively cheap – or perhaps free...

I've covered this project before and I'm no fan of either elevated option. This project presents a fantastic opportunity to serve both local riders and county-wide riders, and building dedicated lanes and stations for buses can be an attractive, most cost-effective solution to Anaheim's congestion on local roads. If Anaheim constructs any kind of rail system, it would be logical to integrate this with Los Angeles's proposed Metro Rail extension to Santa Ana and Santa Ana's plans to link Garden Grove.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that moving Anaheim tourists, not Orange County citizens, is Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle's priority here, and they badly want their fixed guideway. You can pretty much see Anaheim's efforts to sabotage the bus rapid transit (BRT) option: Anaheim claims that BRT will have to operate in mixed traffic, and they only state a seated capacity of 60 (even though BRT's true capacity is actually 180 for seated and standing). BRT really doesn't have to operate in mixed traffic at all:

What's even funnier is that, in their slides, they use the defunct Bravo! rapid bus project as an example of a BRT stop. Really, with the "$$$" expensive cost of a train from ARTIC to Disneyland, OCTA could've built out a real transportation option throughout the county and for Anaheim tourists as well, like Bravo!:

Thus, my disillusionment with OCTA's Go Local projects.

The public has an opportunity to provide input on Anaheim's 5 options. Visit http://www.anaheimfixedguideway.com/get-involved and write your comments in by December 10, 2009:

Anaheim Fixed-Guideway Transit Corridor Study
c/o Jamie Lai, Transit Manager

City of Anaheim

Public Works Department 

200 S. Anaheim Blvd., Ste. 276
Anaheim, CA 92805  read more→

Spokker last week attended the Anaheim Fixed Guideway Transit Corridor Study early scoping meeting. In essence, OCTA and Anaheim staff are considering building bus rapid transit, a monorail, a maglev (?!?), personal rapid transit pods, or an automated people mover. The line would run for about 2 miles and cover Disneyland, Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim Gardenwalk, the Angels Stadium, and the Anaheim Amtrak-Metrolink train station. read more→