Public can attend informational presentations; provide feedback
ANAHEIM, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) will hold its first Southern California community open house on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010. CHRSA and local transportation officials will share information and gather feedback from the public on the Anaheim to Los Angeles section of the project.
The meeting will be held 5 to 7 p.m. in Council Chambers at Anaheim City Hall (200 S. Anaheim Boulevard). There will be a presentation at 5:30 p.m.
Anaheim Mayor and CHSRA Chairman Curt Pringle, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) CEO Will Kempton and members of the project technical team will be present. CHSRA staff will share information on the alignment and station location options being evaluated in the project’s environmental review and seek input from local residents. The complete environmental review will be released in draft form in late spring/early summer 2010.
“This is an important meeting for the people of Anaheim and the surrounding communities,” said Pringle. “I encourage interested people of all ages to attend this meeting, listen to the facts and tell us what you think. This high-speed train project will forever change the way Californians move around the state. But it cannot be successful without the people taking an active role in its development.”
Kempton agreed, “OCTA is excited about the changes high-speed rail and ARTIC will bring to our regional transportation system. Community input is critical to moving this project along quickly and smoothly. We applaud the California High-Speed Rail Authority for holding these community meetings to provide up-to-date information and invite public feedback.”
Approved by the voters in November 2008, the California High-Speed Rail Train project will provide train service between the state’s major metropolitan communities. The first corridor of the statewide system will connect Anaheim and San Francisco —a trip that is expected to take less than three hours. Future system expansions include stations in Sacramento and San Diego.
Initial plans call for the Anaheim to Los Angeles high-speed rail corridor to travel along the existing LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Luis Obispo-San Diego) Rail Corridor. Trains will move between the future Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center (ARTIC) and Los Angeles’ Union Station. An additional station is being considered for either Norwalk/Santa Fe Springs or Fullerton. High-speed rail trains will reach top speeds of 110 mph along this section, taking passengers from Anaheim to Los Angeles in a little more than 20 minutes.
The Anaheim open house is the first of several regional community meetings planned for this spring. To receive information about open houses in other locations or to be added to the mailing list for future project updates, please call (877) 724-5422 or e-mail chsra@communityspeakup.com.
