3 CITIES POOL CASH FOR LOCAL TRANSIT STUDY.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena have contributed $30,000 each for a study examining the feasibility of building a light-rail or a rapid-bus system between Pasadena and North Hollywood.

The study, dubbed the ``Missing Link'' plan, would run parallel to the Ventura Freeway between the Metro Red Line station in North Hollywood, through Burbank and Glendale, connecting to the Gold Line in Pasadena.

``Whether it be rail or rapid bus, we need it as an alternative,'' said Burbank City Councilman Todd Campbell. ``I think it's extremely realistic in terms of achieving it. But I think it's a pipe dream if you think it's going to happen tomorrow. We're probably looking at a 10-year process.''

No cost estimates were available, but more details are expected at a Dec. 12 meeting in Glendale.

The news came in a meeting that Burbank officials hosted with Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who oversees the district in which the transit line would run. He said the route would be a critical alternative to traffic-choked San Fernando Valley freeways.

``This is a very large population base, a strong economic factor for the entire county with the studios and the hospitals and the economic industrial base that Burbank has,'' he said.

As a member of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, Antonovich said he would push for the plan with the hope of getting it included in the agency's long-term goals for the next decade.

The cities' officials hope to have their study completed in six months.

``We welcome that the cities are looking at transit improvements because, certainly to provide for mobility in the future, we have to look at expanding our transit network,'' said Carol Inge, the acting chief planning officer for the MTA. ``All of this is very advance work for money that would be available potentially in the future.''

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com