Surf City plays host in rail discussions

Tariq Malik

HUNTINGTON BEACH -- Surf City served as the hot zone for a discussion

of mass transportation and southern California railway plans, last week.

In a symposium suggested by Councilman Ralph Bauer, communities in the

West Orange County Cities Assn., a group that includes Huntington Beach,

converged to learn about current rail transit projects affecting not just

the city or county, but southern California.

Throughout the daylong program, representatives from the association’s

10 west county cities heard presentations on eight rail-based

transportation plans, ranging from Los Angeles’ Red, Blue and Green lines

in the Metro Transportation Authority to initial plans for a magnetically

levitated speed train that could connect Anaheim and Las Vegas in 105

minutes.

“This was really a starting point, a chance for these different groups

to get together and talk about rail transport in Southern California,”

Bauer said, adding that integrating the plans into a cohesive mass

transportation system spells a number of benefits for all communities.

Officials with the Southern California Association of Governments,

said that between 1997 and 2025, Southland population will jump up to

seven million, mostly from new births. During that time, an increase of

about three million jobs is also expected.

“It’ll be like adding two Chicagos to Southern California,” said Hasan

Ikhrata, the association’s manager of transportation.

The affect on the area’s freeway system, already plagued with traffic

snarls, would result in about four million new trips a day, said county

transit officials. Speeds during peak travel times would average 20 miles

per hour, with an additional 20 minutes tacked on to commutes, they

added.

City officials stressed that while Los Angeles-based projects like the

Alameda Corridor, a rail line designed to move freight inland from ports

in Long Beach and Los Angeles and ease traffic on the Long Beach Freeway,

appear to have no direct effect on Huntington Beach or Orange County,

they do.

“We’re all interconnected,” Bauer said, adding that the obvious

benefit would be to tourism. “But a more interconnected community can

also mean easier access to schools and colleges, as well as more

employment opportunities between different cities.”Bauer has also been

involved with the West Orange County Rail Project, currently in the

planning stages, that could ultimately link Huntington Beach with

Fullerton in the north, reaching out to communities like Fountain Valley,

Westminster, Anaheim and others on the way, as well as connect to Los

Angeles’ MTA to expand rail access.

“I thought it was an excellent chance for our county’s elected and

staff officials to see what’s going on in the field of transportation

other than the use of the automobile,” said Buena Park Mayor Art Brown of

the symposium. “As a county we are growing, and it’s important to let

people know that resources like MetroLink and Amtrak are available.”