The OC Streetcar, a light-rail system slated for completion in 2023, will carry only six vehicles over a bit more than four miles, but it will launch Orange County into a transit future it has long resisted.
As metropolitan areas around California were building urban rail systems over the last few decades, one was a notable holdout: Orange County.
But with traffic worsening and rail gaining traction — particularly among young people — the county is finally about to take a ride, albeit a short one. In short, the trains will offer transit options without entering most of the county’s suburban enclaves. Yet the project does indicate a change in attitude that comes at a time when the county is under pressure to embrace denser development to address California’s shortage of housing.