Transit agency to select rail route for S.F. Valley; December decision will likely be for subway system.

San Fernando Valley residents voted overwhelmingly in a June 1990 referendum to have a monorail built that would run up the Ventura (101) Freeway.

But when the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission votes in December on which mass transit program to adopt for the valley, it will likely ignore that non-binding public mandate and opt instead for a Metro Rail subway.

That decision is likely because the LACTC has already spent $150 million for Southern Pacific Railroad rights-of-way in the valley, and because the subway option is now supported by several elected officials, neighborhood associations and business and civic groups.

Since the 1990 referendum, valley voters have become more informed about their mass transit options through public hearings, and politicians have been working hard to build a consensus supporting the Metro Rail line.

Only Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael Antonovich and the Van Nuys Homeowners Association are counted as supporters of an aerial tramway.

Rosa Kortizija, transportation deputy for Antonovich, said it's too soon to know which transit option the LACTC will choose for the valley because the deadline for proposals to build the Los Angeles International Airport-Palmdale line is Nov. 24, and any proposals involving a trans-valley line will be included then.

She said the private companies bidding on the LAX-Palmdale line also have the option of bidding on the contract to build mass transit in the valley.

She added that these companies, in the process of preparing their proposals, will come up with fresh data on which mass transit option would be the most cost effective.

"Let's not prejudge this until the proposals come in," she said.

An earlier study conducted by the LACTC comparing the tramway to the Metro Rail subway found that the tramway would cost about $500 million less to build than the subway. But the study also cited a number of tradeoffs between the two transit options.

One of the strongest benefits possessed by the Metro Rail option, however, is its political support.

Elected officials endorsing the Metro Rail option include Congressman Anthony Beilenson, County Supervisor Ed Edelman, L.A. City Council members Marvin Braude and Michael Woo, California senators David Roberti and Herschel Rosenthal, and state assemblymen Terry Friedman and Tom Hayden.

The subway option is also supported by the chambers of commerce in Universal City, North Hollywood, Studio City and Tarzana, as well as homeowner groups in Encino, Sherman Oaks and Woodland Hills.

Rosalind Wayman, deputy to Councilman Braude, said that Braude has been an active supporter of the proposed subway route, which extends from Lankershim Boulevard westward along Chandler Boulevard. Braude attributes his subway support to the large amount of public money already spent for the rights-of-way and his two-year effort to build a consensus in the valley.

Wayman contended that voters not fully informed on their choices when the 1990 referendum was taken.

Sondra Frohlich, executive director of the Studio City Chamber of Commerce, said that chamber has "great concerns" about the monorail option because it would worsen traffic problems on Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Laurel Canyon Boulevard, two major thoroughfares linking the valley and the Westside.

She said the monorail would only allow for "kiss and ride" platforms, with no parking for commuters to leave their cars at the station for the day. So the tramway plan would add to traffic congestion throughout the area, she said.

Bill Jasper, president of the Encino Chamber of Commerce, added that the tramway stations would create problems in the neighborhood because of noise and congestion.

These arguments don't phase Don Schultz, president of the Van Nuys Homeowners Association.

"We support the tramway because we want mass transit in the busiest section of the east-west corridor, and that's the Ventura Freeway," he said. He said not only is the aerial tramway cheaper than a subway but it would be more likely to lure commuters out of their cars because they'll be able to see the tramway as they sit in traffic.

The Ventura (101) Freeway aerial tramway would be a two-phased project. It would follow a 16.2-mile route running from Universal City to Warner Center along the Ventura Freeway. Total cost: $2.6 billion.

The Metro Rail route, more formally known as the Southern Pacific Burbank Branch, was approved by the LACTC in March 1990. And ultimately, it's the LACTC that will make the final decision on what route to choose.

The proposed 14-mile Metro Rail route, also to be excavated in two phases, would run from North Hollywood and follow the existing railroad route westward along Chandler and Victory boulevards, Oxnard and Topham streets, across the San Fernando Valley to Warner Center in Woodland Hills.

Most of the proposed Metro Rail route would be underground. Total cost: $3 billion.

Once the LACTC decides which alternative it will adopt, construction would be scheduled to begin in late 1995, with a completion date in the year 2000, said Judy Schwartze, government and public affairs manager for the LACTC.