Streetcars Coming to the OC

The conservative bastion of Orange County will soon begin on construction on the mode of transit favored by the Obama Administration: the "modern streetcar."

1 minute read

January 16, 2018, 2:00 PM PST

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"Construction of a roughly $300 million trolley system through the heart of Orange County is slated to get underway this year as officials move forward with long-running plans for the OC Streetcar in Santa Ana and Garden Grove," reports Sean Emery.

"The streetcars would run with the flow of street traffic from the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, through Santa’s Ana’s burgeoning downtown district, past the seat of county power at the civic center, along the former path of the old Pacific Electric streetcars and finally connect to a new transit hub at Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in Garden Grove," adds Emery.

The OC streetcar has succeeded where other rail projects have failed in Orange County—the CenterLine project connecting John Waye Airport to Downtown Santa Ana failed over a decade ago after years of planning. A streetcar proposal through Anaheim, connecting to Disneyland, also failed at the end of 2016.

Planetizen correspondent reported details on the OC Streetcar planning process in April 2016.

Friday, January 12, 2018 in OC Register

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