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Welcome to a special election issue of The Transit Coalition weekly
newsletter! Our organization participates in meetings
with key decision makers and community leaders and
our goal is to keep you informed on the latest developments
in the transportation scene across Southern California.
The Washington Post reports that Metro Deputy
CEO John Catoe has been tapped
to lead Washington Metro as its new general
manager. Catoe, a D.C. native, will come in as the
Washington Metro copes with rising demand for its
bus and subway services. Catoe will start his new
job in January, pending successful contract negotiations.
California businesses are particularly
relieved of the success of Propositions 1A and
1B, since they believe the improved infrastructure
that would follow will improve the state economic
climate. Pundits believe that the new interest in
upgrading transportation will allure more businesses
to the state and keep
current residents from fleeing to other states.
Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters noted
the irony that Jerry Brown will take office in Sacramento
as attorney general. His father, former California
governor Edmund G. "Pat" Brown, was responsible
for bringing
major infrastructure projects alive in the '60s.
Now that voters approved the bonds, legislators
are feeling
the pressure to deliver the goods while municipalities
are lining
up to get a piece of the pie. Ventura County
already is salivating
at the prospect of building much desired transportation
infrastructure, from widening the 118 Freeway through
Simi Valley to installing freight and commuter rail
along a disused railway from Ventura to Santa Clarita.
Officials in southeast Los Angeles County hope that
the money will be used to widen
the I-5 from the Orange County line to the 605
Freeway. Los Angeles County will also enter
the fray, as it will fight for its share of
funds, which is prompting some to fear that projects
will be funded based on political muscle instead
of merit.
However, the City of Los Angeles stands to reap
the most from the bonds, especially with regards
to transportation and housing. Indeed, Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa, who actively spread the word on the
bonds, suggested that their passage and a concurrently
attained Democratic
majority in the U.S. Congress would translate
into an improved
quality of life for Los Angeles residents. (Note
though that the transit-touting mayor was reprimanded
when it was learned that he is chauffeured in an
SUV quite regularly.) After recently synchronizing
signals on two streets in the San Fernando Valley,
city transportation officials are banking on money
from the bonds to fund
signal improvements along other city streets.
Meanwhile, Orange County transportation officials
are thrilled
that voters, if marginally, approved an extension
of Measure M. Judging from this
map, there's a loose correlation between commute
times and voter approval. Also in Orange County,
state lawmakers will meet
with Caltrans officials to figure out why the
transportation agency has failed to pay taxes on
its long-acquired properties.
Oh, and a measure that would enable the San Diego
County Regional Airport Authority to pursue a new
airport in Miramar was soundly defeated by voters.
This has forced the Authority to pursue alternatives
to enhance
Lindbergh Field, including consolidating rental
car facilities and installing a people mover to
connect to the San Diego Trolley. (An extension
of the Trolley itself to the airport "remains
hampered by numerous practical difficulties,"
according to the San Diego Union Tribune
report.)
Talk about equating mass transit with leprosy: Downtown
L.A. resident Robert LaFranco received a sharp rebuke
from a friend for riding a Rapid bus down Wilshire
Blvd. His defense? "
Because we don't have a train." Mr. LaFranco
is due to suffer more, thanks to LA City Councilmember
Bill Rosendahl, who is pursuing an
end to the bus lanes on Wilshire Blvd. in West
Los Angeles. The councilmember wants the Cities
of Santa Monica and Beverly Hills and Los Angeles
County to install bus lanes in their constituencies
before Los Angeles moves forward with their bus
lane plans.
As if that wasn't enough, one
lousy late train was all it took for this Mission
Viejo resident to forever renounce rail travel and
instead stick to purportedly more reliable driving.
Residents in the Redlands express their gratitude
for their new
"trolleys." However, Redlands Daily
Facts editor Jennifer Dobbs would be hard pressed
to call the faux trolley "mass transit,"
despite the fact that they are nothing more than
wood-and-brass buses fitted with shiny bells aimed
at replacing low-performing Omnitrans lines. Perhaps
it's good to know that Redlands has come a long
way from horse
and oxen travel, as was the fashion in the area
before the town was founded in the 1880s. Also,
columnist Sean Mitchell shares his experiences in
living
in an increasingly loud urban environment, while
throwing a slight jab at the Gold Line, which is
near his home in South Pasadena.
The City of Santa Clarita works on promoting a lunchtime
faux trolley that will run weekdays through
the end of the year. The Hometown Trolley, which
connects the Valencia Town Center shopping mall
with industrial areas, will incorporate
into Santa Clarita Transit and adopt the agency's
fare, bus route and schedule structure. The city
is also updating its Transportation Development
Plan, which the city council urged
to add Santa Clarita Transit, Metrolink, possible
light rail, and alternative fueling stations as
part of the mix.
Even as the Foothill Gold Line
extension has hit some snags, officials continue
to assure the populace that light rail will make
it to Montclair… eventually.
The extension to Azusa will cost $402 million and
may be opened as early as 2011, while the portion
from Azusa to Montclair will cost $760 million and
could be opened four years later. A shift
of power at the U.S. Congress may also affect
the project's chances to win the favor of federal
officials.
The City of Del Mar in San Diego County expressed
disappointment at the sluggish pace and expense
it is taking to install
a "quiet zone" along its portion of
the Coaster railway. Already frustrated at the lack
of money for other municipal projects, the city
is reluctant to fund additional studies to reduce
train noise and is shying away from considering
actual improvements, which may cost as much as $4
million.
Regarding roads, recently passed state legislation
will encourage construction of four high-occupancy
toll (HOT) lanes in the state, two of which
will be located in Southern California. HOT lanes
have been seen as a way of adding road capacity
while maintaining fast speeds by charging tolls
based on demand. Meanwhile, a new study for the
South Foothill Toll Road in Orange County suggests
it will do
little to relieve congestion along the I-5,
contradicting a previous study. Meanwhile, Inland
Empire residents complain that improvements on the
215 Freeway are not
coming fast enough to support exponential growth
in the area. Back in Santa Clarita, carpool lane
connectors between the 5 and the 14 Freeways will
now come at
a price of $157 million, a far cry from the
$81 million figure used as recently as 2005.
As for "smart growth", a recent study
concluded
that the Grand Ave. redevelopment project would
increase traffic and overwhelm the police, while
offering little assurance that low-income families
would secure a residence in the mixed-use development.
The environmental review proposed two options, one
of which included as much as 532 below-market rental
units at the expense of building a new County administration
hall.
Is Riverside a model to behold when it comes to
wheelchair access? Not
in the slightest, according to wheelchair activists.
Sloping and broken sidewalks with no ramps at street
corners are the norm in this city. As a result,
activists are stepping up their efforts with various
lawsuits demanding better accommodations for the
disabled. Municipalities contend that doing so would
hamstring already tight infrastructure expenses
to upgrade hundreds of miles of sidewalks.
Airport safety was the main topic of a recent
meeting regarding the LAX Specific Plan Amendment
study. Los Angeles World Airports
organizers did not discuss options for the northern
runway, since representatives from the Federal Aviation
Administration were present and felt that there
would be a "conflict of interest." The
Los Angeles Times recently spent time with
Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Lydia
Kennard, who is fast emerging as a major
player in fight for improving LAX.
The Port of Los Angeles continues to crack
down on soot-emitting diesel trucks. One major
impediment is reluctance by short-haul drivers to
replace their tractors, since they are the lowest-paid
workers in the nation and new tractors are well
out of their budget. Port officials hope that the
recently passed Prop 1B, which includes funds specifically
targeted to reduce port pollution, will improve
on plans by both ports to fund replacements and
retrofits of existing tractors. However, all may
not go as smoothly, with the Port of Oakland also
vying
for funds. Meanwhile, port officials are touring
the globe to promote their pollution-fighting
methods.
Here is a list of other recent developments:
November 2: The Beverly Hills Mass Transit
Committee held a town
hall meeting to discuss suggested alignments
for a speculative subway extension through their
city. Transit consultant Dick Kaku, who was hired
by the city to give his expertise, studied Wilshire
Blvd. and Santa Monica Blvd. as two possible alignments,
but ultimately suggested that any future subway
should run below Wilshire. Kaku also suggested two
stops, on Beverly Dr. and La Cienega Blvd., based
on existing development densities. Residents showed
concern
regarding terrorism and crime. The Committee will
present its final recommendations to the City Council
on January 9.
November 8: The Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors voted to enter a joint
powers agreement with San Bernardino County
to expedite planning and construction of a proposed
freeway connecting the Antelope Valley with Victorville,
known as the High Desert Corridor. The two counties
will form a new authority, which will operate by
the end of the year, and select five board members.
November 9: How does LAX rate in terms of
transit accessibility? Not
very well, according to Chicago Tribune
reporter Ed Perkins. Yet this was the subject of
a meeting of the LAX Area Advisory Committee. Transit
Coalition Executive Director Bart Reed presented
Committee members various ideas to improve transit
access, with the goal of extending the Green Line
2.5 miles north to the rental car areas and installing
a compatible people mover between the Green Line
and the terminals. A copy of the presentation is
now
available.
November 13: The Orange County Transportation
Authority approved giving $300,000
to six cities so that they can study transit
improvements in their areas. Orange, Anaheim, Laguna
Beach, San Clemente, Aliso Viejo and Villa Park
will each receive a share of the funds. Anaheim
in particular hopes to study a possible monorail
connector, among other things, between its station
near Angel Stadium and its various attractions and
resorts.
Upcoming Events: SCAG Goods Movement
Task Force: Wednesday, November 15, 9 a.m.,
SCAG Offices, 818 W. Seventh St., 12th floor, Los
Angeles.
Metro
Committee Meetings: Wednesday, November 15 and
Thursday, November 16, Board Room, Metro Headquarters,
One Gateway Plaza (adjacent to Union Station), Los
Angeles. (
Supplemental agendas.)
·
Planning
and Programming Committee, Wednesday, November
15, 1 p.m.
·
Finance
and Budget Committee, Wednesday, November 15,
2:30 p.m.
·
Executive
Management and Audit Committee, Thursday, November
16, 9 a.m.
·
Construction Committee, Thursday, November
16, 10:30 a.m. CANCELLED.
·
Operations
Committee, Thursday, November 16, 12 noon.
SCRRA
(Metrolink) Board and Committee Meetings: Friday,
November 17, 10 a.m. San Bernardino Conference Room,
SCAG Building, 12th Floor, 818 W. Seventh St., Los
Angeles.
Metrolink
Holiday Toy Train: Saturday, November 18, 5
p.m. at the Lancaster Metrolink Station, 44812 Sierra
Hwy., Lancaster; 6 p.m. at the Palmdale Transportation
Center, 39000 Clock Tower Plaza Drive, Palmdale;
and at 6:45 p.m. at the Vincent Grade/Acton Station,
730 W Sierra Hwy., Acton. (See Page 3 of the November
Metrolink Matters for additional dates
and locations.)
Orange
County Transportation Authority Board Meeting:
Monday, November 27, 9 a.m., Board Hearing Room,
600 Main St., Orange.
Consider attending our monthly Transit
Coalition Dinner Meeting on Tuesday, November
28 - 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Philippe The Original,
1001 N. Alameda St. Los Angeles CA 90012. ( Map.)
We hope to see you there!
LAX
Specific Plan Amendment Study Public Outreach
Meetings: Wednesday, December 6, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.,
and Saturday, December 9, 9 a.m. to 12 noon, Proud
Bird Restaurant 11022 Aviation Blvd., Los Angeles.
The meetings will discuss the North Airfield Preliminary
Concepts. Those who wish to come can attend either
one of the two meetings.
Metro Board
Meeting: Thursday, December 7, 9:30 a.m., Board
Room, Metro Headquarters, One Gateway Plaza (adjacent
to Union Station), Los Angeles.
Missed last week's newsletter? Read it here!
Get the Print Edition of Moving Southern
California, our monthly newsletter. Request a sample copy.
Contact Us:
We
welcome your thoughts and comments on our new electronic
newsletter. Please write us:
Bart Reed, Executive Director
Numan Parada, Communications Director
About The Transit Coalition:
The Transit Coalition is a 501[c](3) non-profit
whose goal is to increase Transit Options and Mobility
in Southern California by mobilizing citizens to
press for sensible public policy to grow our bus
and rail network.
As a grass roots group, we depend upon your contributions
to allow us to pursue our important work. Add yourself to our mailing list and
please donate to help us grow.
Visit our Discussion Board for the latest dialogue
on transit.
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