CSU BOARD BACKS CAMPUS TRANSIT HUB.

Byline: Steven J. Gorman Daily News Staff Writer

The California State University board of trustees approved plans Wednesday to build a $1.1 million bus station on the Northridge campus as part of a new hub-and-spoke bus system the MTA is creating in the San Fernando Valley.

But angry Northridge business leaders and homeowners charged Wednesday that Cal State Northridge officials failed to notify or consult with the community on a project they fear may increase traffic congestion, noise and air pollution around nearby homes.

``They should have given the neighbors a chance to comment on it, and they haven't done that,'' said Walter Prince, chairman of the Northridge Chamber of Commerce's transportation committee. ``It's going to be a lot of buses, a lot of fumes and a lot of noise.''

Cal State Northridge officials responded that the project, which is still nearly two years from construction, is designed to ease traffic congestion and air pollution, and that plenty of time remains for public input.

``The project is a long way from being built, so there's ample opportunity for good ideas to be presented at this point,'' said Cal State Northridge spokesman Bruce Erickson. ``We certainly have an open mind and open ears.''

The MTA is to finance design and construction of the transit center, which would be built on a university parking lot now occupied by temporary classrooms and office trailers at the east end of the campus at the corner of Prairie Street and Zelzah Avenue, campus officials said.

Private homes line Zelzah across the street from the site.

In addition to providing space for the bus station, Cal State Northridge would furnish routine maintenance of the facility. The university trustees approved the project at their monthly meeting Wednesday.

The transit center would serve as a hub for five MTA bus lines that currently run near the campus, as well as for van service to Metrolink train stations, according to an initial study of the project completed by Cal State Northridge in April.

The study found as many as 36 buses an hour would be using the center during peak periods in the morning and up to 28 buses an hour during the evening rush.

Plans call for construction to begin in early 1998, once earthquake renovations allow removal of the temporary trailers, and the station would open in late 1998, the study said.

The centerpiece of the transit center will be a 3,000-square-foot building housing an information kiosk, a student ride-share office and a security office. The station also will include a sheltered waiting area for passengers, telephones, plus drop-off bays and layover spaces to accommodate up to eight buses at a time, the study says.

The university's plans still must be reviewed and approved by the transit authority, which has yet to receive a formal funding request from the university, said MTA official Renee Berlin.

The Cal State Northridge facility would be one of six new Valley transit hubs to be created under a reconfigured Valley bus network approved by the MTA Board in February, said Berlin, director of the transit authority team that devised the plan.

In the next two years, the MTA plans to convert the current grid of bus lines in the western half of the Valley to a hub-and-spoke system; in the more densely populated east Valley, the hub-and-spoke network will be incorporated into the existing grid, Berlin said.

The intent is to focus service within communities, reduce waiting time for passengers and reduce operating costs by about $4 million a year, she said.

But in Northridge, business leaders and the heads of homeowners groups said they were not informed of plans to build a transit hub at CSUN until contacted by reporters.

``It's an interesting concept that has some pros and cons, and I think the public should be aware of it,'' said Charlene Faber, co-president of the Northridge Homeowners Association.

``I'm not very happy about this, not being notified,'' said Tony Pasano, president of the Sherwood Forest Homeowners Association. ``We support CSUN. But we don't understand why we're not informed about what's going on.''

Northridge Pharmacy owner Barry Pascal, the chamber's honorary ``ambassador of goodwill,'' said the CSUN area ``is highly bused now.''

``Making it a hub can only add to the congestion and undesirability of Northridge,'' he said. ``This is going to increase traffic, increase pollution and is not a good idea.''

But MTA and Cal State Northridge officials said the transit centers would increase the convenience of riding buses, thereby boosting use of public transportation.

``We think this partnership with MTA will be beneficial to our community and to the larger community,'' Erickson said. ``Its effect would be to reduce the use of private vehicles, which increases congestion and pollution.''

Three other transit centers are planned for Metrolink stations in Chatsworth, Sylmar and Burbank. Two others would be built at Warner Center and Universal City.

Sites for the Warner Center and Universal City hubs have yet to be chosen, but Tarzana developer Mark Steele has proposed incorporating a transit center into his proposal for a $60 million sports arena complex on 16 acres owned by Rockwell International's Rocketdyne Division on the northeastern corner of Canoga Avenue and Victory Boulevard.