| | | | | | | | Agenda Item - 3.c.
City of Garden Grove
INTER-DEPARTMENT MEMORANDUM
| To: | Scott C. Stiles
| From: | Maria Stipe
| | Dept.: | City Manager
| Dept.: | City Manager
| | Subject: | Adoption of a Resolution supporting an OC Streetcar extension. (Action Item) | Date: | 1/14/2020 |
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| | | | | | | | OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this report is for the City Council to adopt the attached Resolution supporting an OC Streetcar extension north on Harbor Boulevard to the Anaheim Resort area. |
| | | | | | | | BACKGROUND
The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) will soon complete the OC Streetcar that will extend the reach of Metrolink service by connecting the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center to a new transportation hub near Harbor Boulevard and Westminster Avenue in the cities of Santa Ana and Garden Grove. With Harbor Boulevard being the busiest bus corridor in the county, there clearly is significant demand for high-quality and high-capacity transit in this area. In addition, OC Streetcar will greatly benefit commuters from throughout the county who work in historic downtown Santa Ana and Civic Center. A new mobility hub at the OC Streetcar’s terminus in the City of Garden Grove will add to its convenience for those using the light rail or transferring to OC Bus lines. |
| | | | | | | | DISCUSSION
Given the planned completion of the OC Streetcar in 2022, an extension of the project north from the Harbor Boulevard/Westminster Avenue hub would support job centers in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Anaheim. An extension of OC Streetcar would offer much-needed transportation and access to jobs in the Orange County Civic Center, Garden Grove commercial corridor, and the Anaheim Resort. Nearly 30 percent of Orange County’s population resides in these three cities, and traffic and travel conditions continue to worsen as population and employment grows with our economy. Better access to jobs would offer new opportunities to our residents to get a college education and to continue living and working in Orange County.
The Central Harbor Boulevard Transit Corridor Study was completed in 2018 and included several northerly extension options, one of which included a terminus near Katella Avenue. Given the completed transit study and the alternatives that were evaluated, an environmental study for an extension project in this corridor is a logical next step. The attached resolution demonstrates city council support to extend the OC Streetcar to the Anaheim Resort and advance the environmental study into the next phase. |
| | | | | | | | RECOMMENDATION
It is recommended that the City Council:
- Adopt the attached Resolution supporting an OC Streetcar extension to the Anaheim Resort area.
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