July 8: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History

1976:  Los Angeles County voters reject a ballot measure to increase sales tax by one half-cent to build the “Sunset Coast Line.”

Sunset Coast Line

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The proposed mass rapid transit system would have combined a mix of heavy rail, light rail and monorail to be constructed jointly by the County and the Southern California Rapid Transit District.

A similar initiative had been defeated in 1968.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Baxter Ward later introduces a scaled back start-up project for the Sunset Coast Line, the “Sunset Coast Ltd.,” on April 12, 1978.

Although unsuccessful, Ward’s work with the Urban Mass Transit Administration may have opened doors for Metro Rail in later years.

More information can be found in the 1976 Evaluation of Sunset Coast Line Proposal Executive Summary full-text report prepared for the Southern California Rapid Transit District.