OFFICIALS TRY OUT ORANGE LINE.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

San Fernando Valley business leaders and elected officials took a test- ride Friday on the Metro Orange Line, which many see as an economic engine for redevelopment in underutilized pockets across the region.

Three weeks before the $330 million busway opens to the public, leaders boarded the double-long buses to tour the route and adjacent bicycle- jogging path as part of a morning conference on transportation mobility in Los Angeles County.

``We look at that as an economic engine, a driver. It's something that will create interest where before there was not,'' said Bruce Ackerman, president and CEO of the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. ``The economic development side of it holds even more potential than I think we're aware of.''

Business leaders touted the Orange Line's ability to offer their employees a cheaper way to get to work. Educators said it could give working students a rush-hour route to night classes on college campuses. And urban planners said sleepy areas along the route could be ripe for redevelopment.

The 14-mile busway built along an old rail line between North Hollywood and Warner Center is set to open Oct. 29, with two days of free rides.

It's the largest mass transit infrastructure investment in the Valley since the last leg of the Metro Red Line subway opened in 2000.

The busway promises a trip across the Valley in 40 minutes or less and it's promoted as an alternative to the jammed Ventura Freeway. Alongside the transit line is a landscaped 14-mile bike and jogging path across the Valley.

Residents have long worried that development spurred by the Orange Line would intrude into single-family neighborhoods. Such complaints fueled residents' earlier lawsuit to halt the project that has since been settled.

But business leaders said they envision redevelopment along the route in older, industrial pockets where land is underused. They envision growth particularly reviving commercial districts, such as Van Nuys Boulevard.

For example, Ackerman said the park-and-ride station at Van Nuys, near the Valley's government center with its 5,000 employees, would be a prime location for mixed-use residential and commercial development. Two or three other park-and-ride lots elsewhere could similarly be desirable locations.

Property values can increase 20 percent near transit lines, one expert said.

``We've grown up thinking big roads are the answer. Big roads are hard on neighborhoods. This is a neighborhood-friendly mass-transit alternative,'' said urban planner Dan Rosenfeld of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development and Land Use Committee.

The ride was part of a meeting of Mobility 21, the countywide coalition of transportation, business, community and legislative leaders who advocate for traffic solutions.

Elected officials included City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel; Assemblywoman Fran Pavley, D-Woodland Hills; Assemblyman Lloyd Levine, D-Van Nuys; and Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky - who was called the Father of the Orange Line for championing it through his district - praised the busway as a system that can be built faster and cheaper than other transit solutions.

``This is the kind of public transportation system that could easily work in our lifetime in any part of Los Angeles County.''

Lisa Mascaro, [phone]

lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com

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2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and Councilwoman Wendy Greuel leave the Metro Orange Line after a test-drive.

(2 -- color) Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel ride the Metro Orange Line to North Hollywood.

Gus Ruelas/Staff Photographer