For the first time in LA Metro history, the public will be choosing a new name for a proposed multibillion dollar light rail project.
The public began casting votes on Wednesday, Nov. 15 to rename the ill-named, 19.3-mile West Santa Ana Branch, which would take riders from Artesia to downtown Los Angeles. The line has nothing to do with Santa Ana and would not go to Orange County.
It would be a first of its kind train line that connects working class communities in southeast L.A. County to downtown Los Angeles.
LA Metro launched the renaming in August after board members said the name West Santa Ana Branch was misleading and may have caused state and federal agencies to skip funding for the project. Building the light rail line will cost close to $9 billion. Metro has set aside about $4 billion.
It is planned to run through the cities of Artesia, Cerritos, Bellflower, Paramount, Downey, South Gate, Cudahy, Bell, Huntington Park, Vernon, unincorporated Florence-Graham and eventually, to Union Station. The route roughly flows between the 110 and 5 freeways.
The name stems from an historic L.A. County right-of-way from the defunct Pacific Electric system that once reached the city of Santa Ana in Orange County. Many have criticized the name used for the last 10 years, including Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Karen Bass who said it is confusing and sounds like an Orange County project.
Metro received 1,200 new name ideas for the project from 1,000 members of the public, including entrees from France and Ireland, said Mark Dierking, of Metro community relations. He said the new name may help Metro present a clearer case for federal funding.
“Folks felt when we go for federal funding it wasn’t catching people’s attention; they thought they were giving money to Orange County or to Santa Ana,” Dierking said.
A panel of judges whittled the entries down to 12 finalists and a website for voting on the names went live on Wednesday. Votes can be…
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