Anaheim — Streetcar Route Recommended

October 2012

According to the Orange County Register, with construction underway on a transportation hub near Angel Stadium the city is considering a $318 million plan to move people to Disneyland and its surrounding area by streetcar. The city is considering this plan as a less expensive and more practical plan than the overhead monorail line previously considered.

The line would be called the Anaheim Rapid Connector and would run 3.2 miles from the transportation hub mostly on Katella Avenue. Most of the funding would come from State and Federal grants plus the Orange Country Transportation Authority. The Authority would commit $16.7 million from a local half cent sales tax and the city would contribute $1.8 million from a 2 percent tax on hotel bills.

A fleet of 10 modern streetcars would operate on the line, taking about 18 minutes to traverse the route. Plans call for eventually extending the line south on Harbor Boulelvard to terminate at the Santa Ana rail station.

Annual operating costs are estimated at $4.3 million, and could be funded from the Tourist Improvement District, advertising and, perhaps, a small fare. Planners would like to have the streetcars in operation by 2018.

In mid-October, the Anaheim City Council by a vote of 3 to 2 approved moving ahead with the plan. Sources still must be found for $294 million in funding; $24.6 million has been secured.

At least half that money is expected to come from federal funding, through the Federal Transit Administration's New Starts program. Anaheim will have to compete for that funding among cities across the nation looking to fund similar projects.