OPEN LETTER REGARDING CENTERLINE  May 1st, 2003

The following is a letter signed by 21 Orange County Elected Officials expressing their concerns regarding centerline. For more information please visit the web site at www.nocenterline.com.

 

OPEN LETTER REGARDING CENTERLINE

TO: Orange County Transportation Authority Board of Directors
FROM: Concerned Elected Officials
RE: RE-EVALUATION OF CENTERLINE
DATE: APRIL 11, 2003

We ask the OCTA Board to re-evaluate its support for the proposed CenterLine Project in light of recent
information and ongoing concerns about its impact on Orange County transportation priorities.

Projections of average daily ridership have recently been reduced from 42,500 to 21,800 — less than
0.8% of Orange County’s population. U.C. Irvine’s Institute for Transportation Studies continues to raise
serious concerns about projected ridership and costs (Source: The Los Angeles Times, 2/18/03).

$44 million has already been allocated for CenterLine, with many questions yet unanswered (Source: OCTA
Budget FY 02-03).

The $1.5 billion in currently projected cost for an 11-mile route will severely impact the county’s ability to pay
for other transportation needs.

Specifically, the current request for $750 million in federal funds will limit our ability to secure funding for
other more important transportation projects (Source: The Los Angeles Times, 2/28/03). Regardless of the
funding source, there is only so much money Orange County can secure from federal and state sources.
CenterLine threatens to become a fiscal black hole, draining off funds needed just to maintain and
upgrade our current transportation infrastructure.

Equally troubling as the construction costs are the projected $14 million in annual operation costs (Source: www.octa.net, accessed on 3/24/03). Since both construction and operational costs of such
systems nationwide have been notoriously much higher than originally projected, the true costs could
be even more staggering.

Meanwhile, our existing residential and arterial streets continue to deteriorate. City budgets are stretched
simply to keep their neighborhood and commercial streets from further crumbling. Our bus system needs
upgrading and expansion.

In this context, how can Orange County afford an 11-mile trolley line costing untold billions in initial and
ongoing costs? Are there better uses for these staggering sums of public money? Will CenterLine do anything
to relieve the growing congestion problems in Orange County? Logic—not emotion—should rule the
CenterLine discussions.

Please consider re-evaluating your support for CenterLine in favor of real solutions for our real
transportation problems.

Respectfully submitted,
Tom Tait, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Anaheim
Bob Hernandez, Councilman, City of Anaheim
Greg Smith, Former Councilmember, City of Irvine
Mimi Walters, Councilmember, City of Laguna Niguel
Gail Reavis, Vice Mayor, City of Mission Viejo
Jeffrey M. Thomas, Councilmember, City of Tustin
Tracy Wills Worley, Mayor, City of Tustin
John Campbell, Assemblyman [70th District, Irvine]
John W. Moorlach, Orange County Treasurer-Tax Collector
John Lewis, Senator (Ret.)
John Paul Ledesma, City of Mission Viejo
James V. Lacy, City of Dana Point
Craig Scott, Councilmember, City of Laguna Hills
John S. Williams, Orange County Public Administrator/Public Guardian
Patricia Bortle, Mayor, City of Villa Park
Bill MacAloney, Councilmember, City of Villa Park
Robert McGowan, Councilmember, City of Villa Park
Linda Hindholm, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Laguna Niguel
Mark Leyes, Councilmember, City of Garden Grove

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