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Disney-to-beach transit gets funds
OCTA awards a grant to study building a transit line
from Surf City to Disneyland.
By JENNIFER MUIR
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

An idea to build a transit line stretching from
Disneyland to Huntington Beach got a $250,000 boost
Monday from the Orange County Transportation
Authority.

The OCTA board unanimously approved doling out grants
to several cities to find ways to connect with
existing Metrolink lines, including a total of
$250,000 to study the possibility of building a
transit service connecting the two tourist
destinations along a transportation corridor that cuts
through Garden Grove, Stanton, Westminster and
Anaheim.

Huntington Beach will head the study, which will
include evaluating the possibility of a transit line
along 18 miles of Union Pacific Railroad tracks
stretching from the Metrolink station in Anaheim to
the intersection of Ellis Avenue and Gothard Street in
Huntington Beach. It will evaluate ways to move people
to the beach and into the Disneyland resort area and
also will review other possible transportation routes.

The type of transportation -- such as light rail,
monorail, bus – also has not been determined. The
study could take up to a year and a half to complete.

The proposal is among those submitted by 18 cities
vying for a share of grant money from OCTA's Go Local
program. Each of Orange County's 34 cities was
eligible for $100,000 grants, offered to encourage
cities to think of ways to connect to Metrolink lines.

The best plans will qualify for cash to fund further
study. In all, $30 million is set aside.

News of the idea has angered some residents living
near the railroad corridor in Huntington Beach, who
fear building a transit line there will decrease their
property values.