PROPOSAL TO RESUME BUSWAY WORK STALLED IN SENATE.

Byline: David M. Drucker Sacramento Bureau

Van Nuys Assemblyman Lloyd Levine's bill to allow construction to continue on the Orange Line while a busway alternative is studied appeared dead Monday amid opposition from environmental groups.

The proposal would supersede a court order halting construction of the Orange Line pending a review of whether a system of Rapid buses would better serve the San Fernando Valley.

But the bill was assigned Monday to three Senate committees, making it unlikely - if not impossible - for it to advance to the floor for a vote of the full Legislature by the Aug. 31 deadline.

Levine expressed disappointment, indicating his bill could have passed by the Aug. 31 deadline if it had been made a priority by legislative leaders.

``It's a shame,'' said Levine, D-Van Nuys. ``When things need to get done, they can get done, and I'm not quite sure why this isn't happening the way I'd like to see it happen.''

Assembly Bill 1798 was proposed Friday by Levine in response to an Aug. 2 court decision halting construction of the 14-mile busway. The court sided with a group of Valley residents, ruling that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority should have studied the Rapid Bus system prior to moving ahead with the Orange Line.

Environmental groups, including the Sierra Club and the California League of Conservation Voters, support the Orange Line project but oppose AB 1798. They worry the bill would establish the precedent of using the Legislature to circumvent court-ordered environmental impact reports.

``On the merits of the MTA Orange Line, frankly, everything we know about it sounds like a very good project - good for clean air, etc.,'' said Pete Price, a lobbyist for the CLCV. ``But for the Legislature in the 11th hour to decide to override the local court process is a real problem for us.''

Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Van Nuys, does not serve on any of those committees - Transportation, Environmental Quality and Appropriation - to which the bill was assigned. He declined to comment directly as to what he would like to see happen, but said this problem could have been avoided had the MTA reviewed the Rapid Bus system before breaking ground on the Orange Line.

``It's really in the hands of the courts,'' said Alarcon, a Los Angeles mayoral candidate. ``I believe it's very difficult to argue that you can't do an EIR on bus rapid transit when, in fact, the project you're supporting is bus rapid transit, or a version of it.''

David M. Drucker, [phone]

david.drucker(at)dailybulletin.com

CAPTION(S):

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Photo:

Owners of businesses in Van Nuys' Bessemer Street area - Mal Borders, left, of C&B Auto Body; Arnold Marks of Mustangs, Etc.; Eddie Carbajal of Euromotors; Howard Buck of Studio Services; and Luis De La Cruz of La Cruz Wood Preservation - pose by barriers blocking access to their locations.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer