Director Curt Pringle, also the mayor of Anaheim and chairman of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, shares project information at the first Southern California open house in Anaheim. View more pictures from the open house
here. Photos courtesy of Steven Chan.
Residents Share Comments on Planned
High-Speed Rail at Anaheim Open House
More than 150 Orange County residents flocked to the Southern California’s first high-speed rail community open house Wednesday night in Anaheim.
Community members offered feedback on the much-anticipated project to staff members from OCTA and the California High-Speed Rail Authority about the Anaheim to Los Angeles section of the project at the community meeting at Anaheim City Hall.
OCTA Director Curt Pringle, also mayor of Anaheim and chairman of CHSRA, joined the project team to share information on options for proposed routes and station locations that will be considered during the project’s environmental review. Planners will release the draft of the environmental review in late spring or early summer of 2010 for public review and comments.
Community members shared comments about mitigation, noise and property impacts, funding and construction for the high-speed rail project during the open house. Other topics discussed included job creation and the impact on current bus and rail systems.
“I would very much like to see high-speed rail come to California, so I wanted to come out and support it tonight,” said Jill Jacobs of Irvine. “I am more optimistic after hearing this meeting that it will actually happen.”
Approved by voters in November 2008, California's high-speed rail system will zip passengers from Anaheim to San Francisco in less than three hours. Experts concur that because of Orange County's early planning work, the Anaheim to Los Angeles segment of high-speed rail will be the first under construction.
High-speed trains will take riders from Anaheim to Los Angeles in just 20 minutes, rather than the nearly one-hour current Metrolink train trip.
Initial plans call for the Anaheim to Los Angeles high-speed rail corridor to travel along the existing LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo-San Diego) Rail Corridor. High-speed trains will travel between the future Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) and Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
“OCTA is excited about the changes that high-speed rail and ARTIC will bring to our regional transportation system,” said OCTA CEO Will Kempton. “Community input is critical to moving this project along quickly and smoothly. We applaud the California High-Speed Rail Authority for holding these community meetings to provide up-to-date information and invite public feedback.”
The Anaheim open house is the first of several planned regional community meetings this spring.
Transportation Chiefs Discuss Regional Issues
CEO Will Kempton attended the monthly transportation meeting of regional transportation authorities and commissions in Los Angeles last week.
Representatives from the San Pedro Bay Ports, the Alameda Corridor East Construction Authority, the Alameda Corridor, the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the Southern California Association of Governments gathered to discuss important transportation topics.
Held monthly, the meeting’s agenda focused on comments from Business, Transportation and Housing Agency Secretary Dale Bonner on the state’s public-private partnership program, impacts on transit services based on the elimination of transit assistance funds in the governor’s budget and recent developments regarding the implementation of SB 375.
Citizens Advisory Committee Members
Brave Torrential Rain for Bi-monthly Meeting
The Citizens Advisory Committee met on Tuesday afternoon in the midst of a rainstorm and tornado watch. Nearly 20 members along with Director Greg Winterbottom battled the elements to come to the meeting where they reviewed the status of the state budget and discussed the development of OCTA’s Long Range Transportation Plan and outreach efforts.
Committee members selected the theme for the outreach program: Direction 2035 – Moving Toward a Greener Tomorrow.
Will Kempton also introduced an item on the I-405 improvement options and the concept of toll lanes as a possible way to fund some of the improvements. New member recruitment efforts will begin next month as the terms of half of the members expire.
This Week’s Storm Impacts Rail Construction Schedule
Due to weather conditions, scheduled construction for Metrolink has been tentatively postponed to Jan. 31.
OCTA and Metrolink’s scheduled work on the tracks have been cancelled because of the week’s heavy rains.
The construction work is part of the countywide effort to expand rail service and to enhance rail safety in Orange County.
Due to weather conditions, schedule changes for Metrolink service for Sunday, Jan. 24, have been cancelled. Amtrak and Metrolink will operate normal train service on this day.
The construction work has been tentatively postponed until Sunday, Jan. 31. The construction work will prohibit trains from operating south of the Irvine Metrolink Station.
“Although this temporary closure will result in inconvenience for many of our riders it is required for the future expansion of service in Orange County,” Director Art Brown said. “This will result in more convenient service that will benefit all our riders.”
For the weekend of Jan. 30, all Inland Empire-Orange County Line service on Sunday (trains 857, 858, 859 and 860) will be canceled that day.
Inland Empire-Orange County Line
Orange County Line Sunday service will not operate south of Irvine Station.
Orange County Line
Trains 653, 655, 657 and 659 will originate at Irvine.
Trains 654, 656, 658 and 660 will terminate at Irvine.
No alternate transportation will be provided to or from the stations South of Irvine.
CEO Nearly Finishes Introductions to City Councils
CEO Will Kempton visited the cities of Brea, Fullerton and Laguna Woods this week to introduce himself to elected officials and community members as OCTA’s new CEO.
Kempton has visited 33 cities since he became CEO in August, and hopes to complete his tour of all 34 Orange County cities by the end of January.
Jan. 15 – The ABC-7 News aired a story about train service into Union Station being suspended because of a possible structural problem with the Cesar Chavez Avenue underpass at the north end of the station.
Jan. 15 – The Orange County Register wrote an article about a 21-year-old man arrested on suspicion of drunken driving following a crash with a sedan and an OCTA bus that left 10 people injured.
Due to major cuts in state funding and significant drops in sales tax revenue and fare revenue the OCTA voted to eliminate 150,000 bus service hours including Night Owl service on routes 43, 50, 57 and 60 beginning in March.
Jan. 15 – The OC Weekly included a story about the reduction of Night Owl service, which will go into effect with the March bus service change.
Jan. 18 – The Los Angeles Times ran an article about Caltrans seeking inexpensive alternatives to reduce congestion and accidents on Southern California freeways.
Jan. 18 & Jan. 19 – The Orange County Register included various articles about the Anaheim City Council meeting to discuss several long-range redevelopment projects.
Jan. 18 – The Orange County Register published an article about the Laguna Beach City Council hosting a meeting to give residents a chance to share their comments on recent road construction on Pacific Coast Highway.
Jan. 19 – The Orange County Register published an article that included 2009 job loss numbers in the Orange County.
Despite the heavy rain Southern California has experienced in the last week, construction on the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) project has not been delayed. The project will widen I-5 from three to five lanes in each direction between the Los Angeles County line and the Riverside Freeway (SR-91).
Jan. 20 – The Orange County Register wrote a story about how the rain has not affected construction progress along the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5).
Jan. 20 – The Orange County Register posted an article about the city of Anaheim seeking the public’s opinion on plans to build a high-speed rail line from Anaheim to L.A. and eventually to San Francisco and beyond.
Jan. 21 – The Orange County Register included an article about the High Speed Rail Authority's first community public hearing on plans to build a high-speed rail line between Anaheim and San Francisco.