All Orange County Cities On Board Go Local

The final six cities will explore ways to enhance Metrolink service

ORANGE – Two years after challenging Orange County cities to develop improved connections to their local Metrolink stations, all 34 have climbed aboard.

On Monday, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) board awarded $100,000 grants to Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster, Fountain Valley, Costa Mesa and Newport Beach.

They are the final six cities to join the Go Local program – a four-step process to plan and implement city-initiated transit extensions to the Metrolink commuter-rail line.

OCTA is making a significant investment in the Metrolink service in the coming years because two-thirds of Orange County’s jobs and population are within a four-mile radius of each of the county’s 11 Metrolink stations.

The first step of Go Local provides the $100,000 grants to study possible extensions to linking major activity and employment centers with a Metrolink station.

“In the Go Local program, we are encouraging the cities to think outside the box and come up with innovative ideas for these projects,” said OCTA Vice Chairman Peter Buffa. “We have turned to the cities for their ideas because they have local knowledge and are most familiar with the needs of their communities.”

In the second step, cities will compete for additional funding to further develop the top-ranked projects based on predetermined evaluation criteria. There is $25.4 million available during this phase.