Gold Line Given the Go-Ahead

SAN FRANCISCO — The state Public Utilities Commission narrowly approved the design of the light-rail line already under construction between Los Angeles and Pasadena, calling for few changes other than the imposition of speed and sound reductions.

The commission--which oversees rail safety in the state--voted 3-to-2 Thursday in favor of the current plans for the railway, giving a green light for street-level crossings that had been the subject of concern among some who live along the nearly 14-mile route.

“Significant public benefit will result in timely project completion,” said Commissioner Henry Duque, who touted the line as a tool to improve air quality, boost job access and reduce auto accidents. Trains mixing with cars and pedestrians along the route, he said, “will be safe.”

Duque’s plan won out over another blueprint, which called for a putting the trains in long trenches at several intersections. That plan would have been a huge blow to transit officials because it could have cost close to $100 million and possibly have pushed the railway’s proposed July 2003 start date back a decade.

During its deliberations, the commission focused mostly on busy Del Mar Boulevard, just south of Pasadena’s Old Town, where trains will travel through an apartment complex that will limit sight lines for train operators. Duque’s plan calls on trains, which will run up to 250 times daily, to not exceed 20 mph at the crossing. His plan asks the PUC’s rail safety staff to monitor the crossing and slow the trains further if there are accidents.

Commission President Loretta Lynch strongly disagreed, saying she was troubled by Del Mar Boulevard.

Lynch was not convinced that safety measures at Del Mar--including gates to keep cars from the tracks--would be adequate. She criticized the plan to have PUC staff monitor, and possibly alter, train speeds--moves likely to be made only after bad accidents.

“By then,” said Lynch, pushing for the train to be put into a trench at Del Mar, “it would be too late.”

Siding with Lynch was Commissioner Carl Wood.

Joining Duque were Commissioners Michael Peevey, a Pasadena-area resident, and Geoffrey Brown. Before the vote, observers close to the commission said they were unsure what would happen, but some that speculated Brown would provide the swing vote.

A San Francisco resident, Brown said the line had the backing of scores of residents and almost every major politician from the Los Angeles and Pasadena area. He noted that light-rail trains in his city often run on bustling streets. “Compared to other lines that I know, this will be a safe operation,” he said.

Perhaps most relieved Thursday was Rick Thorpe, chief executive of the Los Angeles to Pasadena Metro Construction Authority, the agency created in 1998 to build the line after a then-struggling MTA had spent tens of millions of dollars planning it.

Thorpe had been criticized for building before being granted approval by the PUC, a move he argues he was forced into since he was told to build as fast as possible on a tight budget of $451 million.

“I’m completely relieved,” he said. “I hate 3-2 votes, but in the end, we prevailed and that’s all that matters.”

Thorpe said construction at the crossings would begin as soon as possible and added that the half-finished railway is about three months behind schedule.

A small group of citizens who had fought for years to put the railway in trenches through Pasadena took the news hard. “It is a turning point in the life of Pasadena,” said Karen Cutts. “Its future will go in the wrong direction.”

Larry Hoffman, a lawyer who has represented his neighbors in the Mt. Washington area, said said most of his clients were willing to accept a compromise floated by some PUC officials to limit train speeds and reduce the use of horns. The commission voted for those changes.

“We are really pleased with the result, and proud of it,” he said. “We feel like we’ve won.”