No Trolleys in South Laguna

South Laguna residents successfully argued against the expansion of trolley service to their hillside streets this past Tuesday.

With nearly a dozen residents ready to object to the proposed trolley service, City Manager John Pietig was willing to drop the route. “The new service was intended to be something that would be desired by the people on the route. It turns out that’s not the case,” he said. “There’s no need to argue about it.”

Residents opposed trolleys traveling their streets as unnecessary traffic and objected to the exhaust, noting that the city buses are empty most of the time. Revamping routes for the city’s blue-and-white bus line will be addressed by the city in a future report, Pietig said.

The city will still lease three new gas-powered trolleys for the summer, said Pietig, which are set to replace the blue-and-white buses on regular residential routes in the rest of the city and supplement the popular Coast Highway route. Riding on the summer trolleys is free. Trolleys will go into neighborhoods to ensure residents can grab a seat before tourists pack the trolleys traveling along Coast Highway to capacity.