Reusing the old Pacific Electric Railway a possibility?

Written by jrood

In the neighborhood of 1500 North Bewley Street, a hole in a fence leads to a grimy outdoor corridor with graffiti-plastered walls that is used as a dumping ground for old television sets and other unwanted items, the Orange County Register reports. Fifty years ago, this same corridor was part of the Pacific Electric Railway, or Red Car system, which provided mass transit service to Southern California from 1901 to 1961.

Now, officials are
thinking of the possibilities of reusing the abandoned
West Santa Ana Branch
Corridor
that connects
Orange and Los Angeles counties.

The Southern
California Association of Governments, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority and the Orange County Transportation Authority are
conducting an alternative analysis to explore potential transit service along
the corridor.

The old railroad
line extends for approximately 20 miles between the city of Paramount and the
city of Santa Ana.

Throughout the month
of June,
a series of community
meetings are scheduled

for group discussions on a potential project that would connect the Los Angeles
Metro Blue Line, Metro Green Line, and Union Station on the north end and the
Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center on the south end.

Officials say public
input is necessary to identify community needs such as access to jobs,
education, and recreation.

"If we can come
up with a regional solution to relieve traffic congestion, meet the travel
demands of residents, and serve as a catalyst for economic development for
cities spanning from Santa Ana to Union Station in L.A., we will have met our
charge and more," said Buena Park Mayor Art Brown, co-chair of the
steering committee for the study.

In another project that has
looked at using the corridor, the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove are
considering a streetcar plan to ease traffic, improve transportation, and
better link both cities to the Metrolink train line. Recently, the Orange
County
grand jury found that
Santa Ana officials used a ‘compromised’ process
to award a contract worth nearly $5 million to
oversee the project’s design and planning.

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