Trial of residential trolleys won’t include South Laguna, council decides

Trolleys will not roll through South Laguna streets, not even on a trial basis this summer, the City Council decided Tuesday night after residents had flooded City Hall the past few weeks with concerns about traffic, noise and safety.

In February, the council approved a pilot project that would expand trolley service through residential neighborhoods to complement traditional routes along Coast Highway and Laguna Canyon Road this summer.

The vote Tuesday in essence removed South Laguna from the plan.

It also approved spending $71,100 to lease three trolleys to help with residential service in other parts of the city, including north Laguna, Top of the World, Bluebird Canyon and Arch Beach Heights. These trolleys would complement the city’s current 21 for the summer months.

The residential trolley routes in South Laguna would have included Scenic Drive, Eagle Rock Way and West Street this summer.

The goal has been to replace mainline bus service on the streets, the idea being that trolleys are more popular than buses — they are free and more ubiquitous — and therefore more effective at keeping drivers and cars off crowded city streets.

Residential trolleys would run at 20-to-30-minute intervals — buses run every hour — and would be offered into the evening on certain days, Tom Toman, deputy director of public works for the city, wrote in an email.

At least 20 residents, many worried about trolleys traversing streets where children play and beachgoers walk, appeared ready at the meeting to try to convince the council that routes through their neighborhoods should be eliminated from the plan. But they found they didn’t need to after hearing from City Manager John Pietig.

“We heard their concerns,” Pietig said. The new service was intended as something desired by the people along the route. That is not the case. My recommendation is remove the route. There is no need to argue about it. If they don’t want it, withdraw it.”

The approved residential trolleys will operate from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Fridays, and 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays from June 24 through Aug. 31.

Meanwhile, city staff members are studying bus ridership data to determine the buses’ effectiveness and will report to council this spring, Pietig said.