Anaheim — Route Map Unveiled

March 2016

The OC Register site reports that Anaheim has released a proposed route map of the streetcar connecting ARTIC to Disneyland.

Katella Avenue, Disney Way, and Harbor Boulevard are streets city officials propose for a $298.7 million streetcar to carry passengers from the ARTIC transit hub to Disneyland and the Convention Center.

The 3.2-mile route would serve eight stops, including a new transportation center built by Disneyland Resort where park visitors arrive on buses, taxis or the new streetcar.

"If a streetcar doesn’t make sense here, where else would it make sense?” City Engineer Rudy Emami said. “When you look at the growth in the area, and the number of hotels being built here, this is something that is needed.”

Planners say the streetcar would transport 28,000 new residents expected to move into the Platinum Triangle near Angel Stadium over the next decade, along with carrying more than 25 million annual visitors to the Disneyland Resort.

However, Mayor Tom Tait is not a supporter. “Even if money were no object, I still wouldn’t build it,” he said. “Our transit money must relieve congestion and increase mobility, and this streetcar does neither,” Tait said. “In fact, it makes both worse.”

Supporters counter that Anaheim’s streetcar could in the future link to the proposed OC Streetcar line connecting Santa Ana to Garden Grove.

No consensus exists for the Anaheim streetcar project.