Anaheim: a car-free good time! Natalie Meeks Director of Public Works City of Anaheim, California
here is no better place on Earth to work and play than Anaheim, California! APWA members, guests and sponsors are in for a treat when they visit Anaheim this August for the International Public Works Congress & Exposition. Scheduled right before the long Labor Day weekend, this four-day convention is the largest gathering of public works professionals in the world. Attendees will enjoy extensive educational programming, professional workshops, an enormous exposition floor and ample networking events. But that’s just part of what Anaheim holds for APWA. Known as the downtown of Orange County, Anaheim offers world-class tourism attractions, including the Disneyland Resort, Angels Baseball, Honda Center, the Anaheim Ducks, concerts, museums, restaurants that range from family-friendly to four-
star, and much, much more. Why not combine work with pleasure and bring the family to enjoy all that Southern California has to offer? Come early and stay late! Southern California is known throughout the world for its beaches, its sunny weather, its celebrities and its love affair with the automobile. But part of Anaheim’s appeal is the ability for visitors to travel to and throughout the town without the need of a car. Whether on foot or taking advantage of the multiple public transit options, visitors can easily move car-free around Anaheim.
Getting here From the airport. Anaheim is 15 miles away from both John Wayne Airport and Long Beach Airport. Anaheim is also accessible from nearby Los Angeles International airport and Ontario Airport—both about 30 miles away. Many Anaheim hotels have an airport shuttle that
will pick you up and drop you off for your flight—check with your hotel directly and you will likely be able to avoid renting a car. Disneyland Resort also operates shuttles to and from John Wayne Airport and Los Angeles International airport. Shuttle and executive car services are another airport transportation option that will eliminate the need to rent a car —which you won’t need in Anaheim (http://anaheimoc.org/plan-your-trip/ maps). From the train. Visitors can travel to Anaheim by train on either Metrolink or Amtrak. The Metrolink train runs from San Clemente to Los Angeles Union Station (LAUS) in Los Angeles. The Amtrak train runs from San Diego to Santa Barbara with stops at Anaheim as well as LAUS. Both train systems have smartphone-friendly mobile sites and there is also an Amtrak app available for free through iTunes (http://www.metro.net/around/ maps). By bus. The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) provides bus service for Anaheim with local and county-wide routes. To make it easy to explore Orange County by bus and train, OCTA offers the OCLINK pass. Available on the OCTA website, the pass allows for unlimited travel on all buses and Metrolink trains throughout Orange County for $7 a day or $10 for a weekend (www. octa.net).
Getting around in town City National Grove of Anaheim (photo courtesy of City of Anaheim)
12 APWA Reporter
June 2012
The Anaheim Resort district was created in 1994, dedicating the area
