Trio of proposals envisions monorail network for L.A..

Rail lines would connect with each other, subways

From LAX north to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport and from Hollywood west to the UCLA campus in Westwood, western Los Angeles could lie under a network of monorail transport systems, if three proposals currently in the works come to fruition.

The first proposal, which comes before the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission for a vote on Dec. 16, is for a $2.6 billion elevated rail line to run above the Ventura (101) Freeway median from Warner Center in Woodland Hills east to the proposed northwestern end of the Metro Rail Red Line route in Universal City.

The LACTC is choosing between the elevated rail and an underground extension of the Metro Rail line that would parallel Burbank and Chandler boulevards. The elevated rail is expected to be a monorail, but the LACTC has left open the possibility of light rail.

The second monorail proposal, which is at the study stage, is for an elevated rail to run from the Burbank airport east to downtown Burbank, and then south through the media district to Universal City.

Finally, the Beverly Hills City Council is scheduled to vote Jan. 12 on whether to sign a contract for a feasibility study to be conducted on the third and longest rail line proposal.

This Westside monorail would run from Universal City south to Hollywood, southwest through West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood, and south along the San Diego (405) Freeway to Los Angeles International Airport.

The study would be jointly financed by eight corporate and municipal entities, with the City of Beverly Hills as lead agency.

* Ventura Freeway Proposal

The battle heated up last week over whether to build a monorail or a subway in the San Fernando Valley when a report was released by LACTC staff saying the elevated rail may cost more than existing estimates. It cited the possible need to further widen the freeway, rebuild bridges and move walls to make room for rail support columns.

It is estimated that the underground rail would cost $3.03 billion to construct.

The San Fernando Valley monorail is opposed by a group called Coalition of Freeway Residents, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency and the Los Angeles Planning Commission.

The planning commission and the residents' group believe the monorail would increase traffic on the freeway, because motorists would use it to gain access to rail system stops. The CRA prefers the Burbank-Chandler line because the agency believes it would be good for North Hollywood redevelopment.

* Burbank Proposal

Burbank City Manager Bud Ovrom said his city, which has already spent $250,000 on a monorail feasibility and environmental impact study, is waiting for the LACTC to make a decision on the San Fernando Valley rapid transit system before it commits to a proposal.

"We have pretty much taken a wait-and-see attitude," said Ovrom. "We expect to tie in. Our thinking is they need to decide. ... We have put a lot more money into studying the monorail (than a subway), but we're not putting all our eggs in one basket."

Burbank hired Gensler & Associates Architects of Santa Monica to do the monorail study after being approached about the idea by L.A. County Supervisor Mike Antonovich, said Ovrom.

"He came to us and said he felt the monorail proposal was where the momentum was," said Ovrom. "If they (LACTC) go with the subway, we expect to go with that too."

* Westside Monorail

Last summer, Gensler & Associates went to the Beverly Hills City Council with a proposal for a monorail line from West Hollywood west to the San Diego (405) Freeway, and north/south along the 405 from UCLA to the Santa Monica (10) Freeway.

Gensler Vice President and Managing Principal Edward Friedrichs said he was weary of watching every development project that his company worked on being tied up with traffic mitigation programs, so his company decided to take the lead in solving transportation problems.

Friedrichs estimated the Westside project would cost $275 million to build, financed both by some sort of transportation district tax and by the LACTC and/or businesses along the route.

Since then, due to negotiations with various entities to obtain financing for a feasibility study and win support for the project, the proposal has been expanded to continue south to LAX.

Gensler has decided it can complete the study for $80,000, with eight sponsors coughing up $10,000 each. Six have been secured so far, including the City of Beverly Hills as coordinating sponsor, and two more are needed by the time the Beverly Hills City Council votes on the contract next month.

The other five sponsors are the City of West Hollywood, the Pacific Design Center, the Century City Shopping Center, JMB Realty Corp. and UCLA.

Friedrichs said the Burbank/Westside proposals include parking garages that would double as electric-car recharging stations in Burbank, Universal City, Westwood, West Los Angeles (at the intersection of the 405 and 10 freeways) and Culver City (at the intersection of the 405 and the 90 Marina Freeway).