The City of San Juan Capistrano will fund a free weekend trolley program starting June 12, which will last through September 6.
This new project is spearheaded by Councilwoman Kerry Ferguson with unanimous support by the City Council. The City looked to Mission San Juan Capistrano for support in getting the word out and reaching out to its more than 330,000 visitors a year.
The trolley will run Fridays from 4-10 p.m., Saturdays from 9 a.m.-10 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
“An often heard phrase among San Juan residents and visitors alike is ‘I like to go downtown for events and a meal with friends, but parking is a headache.’ A new parking structure is a multi-million dollar proposition and is years off at best,” Ferguson said. “Now, there’s a new solution!”
The trolley was loaned to San Juan Capistrano by the city of Brea. It is a vintage style, with wood slatted seats and air conditioning. Stops will be marked around town to make it easy to find.
“Our historic and cultural assets benefit by this kind of effort to bring people from hotels and around the area to enjoy the unique historic ambience and charm of our historic downtown,” Mission San Juan Capistrano executive director Mechelle Lawrence Adams said, while also expressing thanks to Ferguson and the city of San Juan Capistrano. “Let’s help make this a successful amenity!”
In order for San Juan to retain OCTA grant funds to operate the trolley, it must have at least 10 riders per hour. This is an experimental year for this service, one the city hopes to expand in coming years so that it can offer wider routing and even more frequent pick-ups. So San Juan is urging residents and visitors to ride often.
The San Juan Capistrano Trolley Official Ribbon Cutting & Celebration Event will be held on Friday, June 12 at 10 a.m. at the Rivendell-Mission parking lot, on the northeast corner of El Camino Real and Ortega Highway. There will be an open house to step inside the trolley before it launches at 4:00 p.m.
Attached is an image showing the trolley map route.
For the latest information, please visit:
www.missionsjc.com/visit/trolley
About Mission San Juan Capistrano:
Known as the “Jewel of the Missions,” Mission San Juan Capistrano is a historic landmark and museum that boasts of quality permanent exhibits featuring original artifacts as well as traveling and temporary exhibits on a wide variety of topics.
The site itself serves as a living outdoor museum with original buildings constructed by Native Americans in the 18th century including the Serra Chapel, Great Stone Church, and the original padres’ quarters of the South Wing.
The Mission was founded on November 1, 1776 by Padre Junipero Serra as the seventh in the chain of the twenty-one California missions established by Spain, and is Orange County’s only mission. Every year, over 50,000 students visit the Mission and engage in an inspirational learning experience via the Mission Matters programming, as part of their State required California history studies.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is owned by the Diocese of Orange and is supported by the Mission Preservation Foundation, which is comprised of business and community leaders committed to ensuring the long term preservation and viability of Orange County’s only Mission. The Mission receives no funding from either the Church or the State of California and charges admission funds as a means of providing public access.
Mission San Juan Capistrano is located at 26801 Ortega Highway, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675. Open Daily 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Good Friday afternoon. Admission is $9 adults; $8 seniors (60 years or over); $6 children (ages 4 to 11); and children ages 3 and under are admitted free. Free audio guide with senior and adult admission. For more information, call (949) 234-1300 or visit www.missionsjc.com.
Joe Haakenson
