volume 7, number 10 Moving Page 3

West Santa Ana ROW Project Highlighted

By Numan Parada All rail options would use the West Santa Ana branch north to a different railway, Philip Law presented information on the which heads north towards . West Santa Ana Branch right-of-way Several options exist for the rail route to transit project at The Transit Coalition follow city streets through Huntington Park September dinner meeting. Law is the and Vernon. Acting Manager of the of Southern California Association of Governments Some options would connect to the Santa Transit & Rail Department, Transit Ana Regional Transportation Center via Planning Division. city streets. Law provided details on the corridor, For a project of this scale, challenges which runs from Santa Ana to Watts in a are inevitable. On the portion north of diagonal direction. the ROW, traffic impacts are a notable concern. There are also issues regarding trains once ran how the line will ultimately connect with on this right-of-way from Santa Ana to Los Union Station and affect its operations. All Angeles, serving what today are known as options call for a new Green Line station the Gateway Cities, such as Bellflower and Philip Law of SCAG discusses West Santa where patrons can transfer between the Lynwood. Ana Branch Project. Photo by Tony Waree two services. With an allocation in , Metro has As for the area adjacent to the right-of- the funds to pursue developing this project. People have repeatedly supported a rail alternative for the right-of-way. There has way, the numerous diagonal crossings will The agency and the Orange County have their own traffic and safety issues. Transportation Authority are now able to also been interest in building a parallel bicycle and pedestrian path, as well as For the southern, street-running segment, look at this corridor to evaluate potential any alternative chosen must address reuse for transit purposes. Because the opportunities for economic development and revitalization. impacts on historical structures and other project straddles two counties, SCAG is the sensitive land uses. lead agency studying the project. As for cost, a BRT option would cost a little However, the right-of-way north of As a historically transit- more than $1 billion. A streetcar would Paramount has been reused to house poor region, the Gateway cost from $2.6 billion to $2.9 billion. Light the 105 Freeway through Lynwood (itself rail alternatives would range between $3 carrying the Metro Green Line) and a park Cities and northwestern billion and $3.2 billion, while a maglev in Watts. Thus, the study focuses solely on Orange County face serious option would cost as much as $7.5 billion. the remaining and largely untouched 20 Of these options, would bring the miles from Paramount southward. challenges to transit usage. most patrons, at more than 80,000 daily The alternatives analysis study is boardings, of which 50,000 of those would considering several modes of travel that be new to transit. can be used on the former railway, with The study reviewed four technologies for Those in charge of the alternatives the intent of connecting to Los Angeles the project: light rail, streetcar, bus rapid analysis study will present its findings Union Station and the Santa Ana Regional transit and maglev. All intend to use the and recommendations to the SCAG Transportation Center. 20 miles of right-of-way available. No-build Transportation Committee on November 1. The study aims to discern the best mode and transportation demand management The group will recommend three options to serve the region and select it for options are also under discussion. to carry forward for environmental environmental review. For the (BRT) option, review: no-build, transportation demand SCAG has already completed initial two routes are under consideration, with management and light rail. meetings with both elected officials and both exiting the right-of-way at Lakewood For the northern segment, a path residents along the route, according to Boulevard. One would use the carpool following the east bank of the Los Angeles Law. The transit project is seen as a way to lanes on the 105 and 110 Freeways, while River north of Vernon and another path address existing and future highway and the other would run on city streets in entering Huntington Park, Vernon and freeway congestion. Additionally, attendees Downey, South Gate and Huntington Park. using Alameda Street in Los Angeles will of these meetings made no qualms about A streetcar option would be similar to be recommended. For the southern end, the lack of alternatives to the automobile that in Portland and what is separately the group recommends street running on and connections to the regional transit proposed in Santa Ana: At-grade, in street, Harbor and 1st St in Santa Ana. The Los system. mixed with auto traffic. Light rail would Angeles County segment will have priority As a historically transit-poor region, the look much like the Metro Blue, Green, Gold, over the Orange County segment in terms Gateway Cities and northwest Orange and Expo Lines of today, which mostly of what will be built first. County face serious challenges to transit run in their own right-of-way. A low-speed The Metro Board will decide on moving usage. Other attendees noted the need for maglev option would closely resemble the forward with an environmental review improved bicycle and pedestrian facilities Linimo line in Nagoya, Japan, but must be sometime in early 2013, while the OCTA for the area. fully grade-separated. Board will follow suit in the summer.