Orange County Chairman Mel Martinez is moving on light rail. This week the one-time proponent and recent foe of the project assigned a key staff member to coordinate it. And he’s reportedly talking about some kind of study commission.
The proposed rail line, which would at first link the airport to I-Drive, would cost the county and city each $11 million to start, then $3.7 million a year to run.
Although rail fans say the train will reduce commuter traffic, it’s not clear that in sprawled-out O-Town enough riders would live close enough to the tracks to use the train. Opponents say building better roads is the path to traffic nirvana.
This article appears in Nov 25 – Dec 1, 1998.