The Metro Board of Directors’ monthly board meeting took place yesterday – and while the San Gabriel Valley residents, business community and elected officials showed up with enthusiasm, many ended up leaving half-way through the meeting with that feeling that’s the opposite of enthusiasm (pick any antonym).
If people were to assume that Measure R was passed to primarily fund light-rail projects, they’d be partially right. The biggest transit discussion that’s been going on since Measure R had passed had been on the Subway to the Sea, Gold Line, Expo Line, Green Line, regional connector, etc. – so much discussion that, despite the Long Range Transportation Plan workshops and focus on Measure R at previous Board meetings, the highway plans that were also a part of the voter-approved Measure R were apparently lost in the mix. According to the Pasadena Star-News, “75 of 88 county cities registered complaints about the fact that the plan would not estimate an end date for construction on numerous [highway] projects that will be funded by Measure R.” So because Metro hasn’t had the time to thoroughly discuss and analyze the highway plans, the vote on the LRTP – which sets the funding and construction timelines for projects under Metro’s control – has been delayed once again. This time, for another month or two.
While a delay on finalizing the LRTP isn’t anything new, it definitely seems to be taking its toll, not just with the public, but with the Metro Board of Directors themselves. Richard Katz remarked, “MTA never fails to miss an opportunity to delay… we ought to be working around the clock to get it done by August.” If a vote does happen in August, as Streetsblog LA points out, it would happen at a special workshop on August 13 – seeing as how there is no regular board meeting scheduled for that month. This would give Metro approximately three weeks to complete a thorough discussion of the highway plans and then a final vote on the LRTP. Not to say anything about the abilities of the Metro staff, but three weeks seems a bit (just a bit) optimistic for any staff of any abilities with a plan of this magnitude. Metro staffers themselves thought it would be difficult to be ready for the Aug. 13 meeting. And then, there’s the politics. So our best bet would be September.
If you’re in the San Gabriel Valley and you’re feeling a bit letdown – our advice is: don’t. Remember, the Gold Line Foothill Extension is slated to receive the $875 million in funding in the latest version of the Long Range Transportation Plan toward construction of the line to Azusa. Our last remaining goal is to have Metro change the operational date of that line from 2017 to 2013. Maybe this can be achieved by September?
For blow-by-blow coverage of yesterday’s meeting, you can revisit our Twitter feed @iwillride. If you’d like a breakdown of the other topics discussed at the meeting, Streetsblog LA has an extensive write-up on some other loud issues that were also taking center-stage.
Tomorrow, the Metro Board of Directors is expected to discuss and – fingers crossed – vote on the long-awaited and much-anticipated Long Range Transportation Plan. The meeting is set to take place at 9:30 a.m. at the MTA building. With all the progress that has been made during the past few months for the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension, we’re asking for just one more small detail to be changed: move the operational date from 2017 to 2013. In less than 24 hours, we’ll know the fate of the LRTP, if Metro doesn’t delay the vote.
In addition to the LRTP, a plethora of other issues is set to take command of the discussion at tomorrow’s meeting. You can read about them in the meeting’s agenda, but for those of you who prefer non-cryptic English, Streetsblog LA has written up a preview.
For those of you who are unable to attend, you can follow live coverage of the meeting on Twitter @iwillride or listen by phone by dialing (213) 922-6045 (I recommend the former). For those of you who will be attending, you won’t be able to miss us. A sea of gold-shirted Gold-Line-riding San Gabriel Valley folk is expected to be there and demand that the Metro Board of Directors follow the original intent of Measure R – which was to build, complete, and operate the Foothill Extension to Azusa by 2013. Voters come first.
We’d like to congratulate Judy Chu for becoming the Congresswoman for California’s 32nd Congressional District. She won the July 14 special election to fill the seat vacated by U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. Dr. Chu always has been a staunch supporter of the Gold Line Foothill Extension – not just for the benefit of the San Gabriel Valley but for the entire Los Angeles County region. She joins Congress members Adam Schiff of the 29th District, David Dreier of the 26th District, and Grace Napolitano of the 38th District as our voices for the San Gabriel Valley in Congress. This quartet has been vocal and active in supporting the extension, and they will continue to fight for the entire line until it reaches Ontario Airport.
“I will fight hard for the San Gabriel Valley’s fair share of infrastructure dollars, bringing federal dollars to projects like the Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Montclair and the 10/605 freeway interchange upgrade.
Fully funding these crucial, ready-to-go projects will not only immediately generate hundreds of badly needed jobs and provide a jolt to the local economy, but they will also address the long-standing transportation issues of the Valley, saving residents and businesses the untold millions of dollars in productivity lost on our region’s gridlocked freeways.”
“We desperately need Gold Line [Foothill Extension] now. It should be a priority for the MTA. It is ‘shovel ready.’ Build it now!!! Not in 2017.”
“The pollution is getting worse and more people are moving to these areas. We need to alleviate the traffic congestion + we cannot pave our way out of it. Public transportation expansion is the way of the future.”
“I’m all for public transportation, not just in my area, but all through the greater L.A. area. Private autos are set to become a thing of the past as resources become scarce. This line, and others like it, cannot be built quickly enough!”
“We need more public transportation! Thank you! Gracias!”
The Measure R workshop took place Thursday, and while the buzz around the blogs has been around the proposed acceleration of three rail projects, it turns out the attention was quite unwarranted. Why so? If you followed our live-tweet of the meeting yesterday, you would’ve known that the three rail projects – regional connector, Gold Line Eastside Extension 2, and Green Line to LAX – were “randomly selected” (Metro’s words) by Metro’s staff to showcase a potential funding scenario if Metro were indeed to go ahead and accelerate funding and construction of any projects outside of Measure R’s timetable. There were no indications that these three projects were specifically singled out or favored by Metro.
Most of the rest of the presentation by Metro’s staff can be found in the handout, but a significant portion of the meeting involved results from a Measure R survey (conducted in May of 605 Los Angeles County voters) that was not distributed at the meeting. Here are some highlights from the survey results:
When Metro began survey in September 2005, 61% of voters would have voted yes (from “leaning yes” to “definitely yes”) for Measure R. In May this year, assuming that Measure R was up for voter approval, 68% of voters would have voted yes – the highest that it’s ever been. Playing that same scenario, 45% of voters would vote “definitely yes” for Measure R – also the highest that it’s ever been. Surprising during this state of the economy. Staff feels like this is the perfect time for Metro to reach out to the public because of such high levels of support.
Metrolink, Metro, and Caltrans – three transportation agencies – are dwarfed by the Los Angeles County – Sheriffs Department and Fire Department in terms of approval rating.
43% of those surveyed use public transit. Of that 43%, 75% approve of Metro’s performance.
6 in 10 of those surveyed believe Metro is not building out promised projects fast enough. The survey analyst said this was a “red flag.”
The two biggest reasons for voters supporting Measure R were job creation and contributions to the local economies. (READ: Foothill Extension)
A short public comment period followed and several supporters of the Foothill Extension were able to get their comments in. Duarte Councilmember Lois Gaston pointed out that the Foothill Extension would not only improve the region’s air quality for this generation, but for many generations to come. The most notable public comment came from a representative of Assemblymember Ed Hernandez, who had worked on the original state bill that became Measure R. He reminded the Metro Board of Directors that the original intent and expectation of the bill was to complete the Foothill Extension to Azusa by 2013. Can’t argue with voters.
All in all, the meeting was a warm-up for the big July 23rd vote on the Long Range Transportation Plan. We’re hoping for Metro to change the operations date from 2017 to 2013, which is when construction is expected to already be finished. Now we wait.
MONROVIA, July 17, 2009 – Duarte Mayor John Fasana was appointed to the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority board to serve as the representative of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Chief Executive Officer Habib Balian said today.
Fasana, who has represented the 30 San Gabriel Valley cities on the Metro board since its inception, was appointed to the Foothill Extension board by Metro Chairman and Glendale City Councilman Ara Najarian.
“Mayor Fasana has been the Foothill Extension’s staunchest representative at Metro and worked hard to ensure that Metro included funding for the line in Measure R and the Long Range Transportation Plan,” Balian said. “We look forward to his leadership on the Construction Authority board as we move toward construction of the line and keeping us on schedule to open to Azusa in 2013.”
Fasana will be sworn in at the July 22 Construction Authority board meeting.
“The Construction Authority has done a great job of getting the Foothill Extension ready to go, and now it is up Metro to fund it,” Fasana said. “The Extension is an economic stimulus project for the San Gabriel Valley and has the potential to create thousands of jobs and bring our economies back to life. I look forward to working the Construction Authority board to break ground next year.”
Fasana replaced Vivien Bonzo. “On behalf of the Construction Authority, I would like to thank Vivien for her service and commitment to the Gold Line since the Authority’s 1999 inception,” Balian said.
The Metro board is scheduled to consider its Long Range Transportation Plan at its July 23 board meeting. The draft includes $743 million, beginning in 2010, for construction of Phase 2A of the Foothill Extension. If approved, the Construction Authority can begin work on the Pasadena-to-Azusa section as soon as June 2010 and remain on schedule to operate the extension in 2013.
Construction of the Foothill Extension will create an estimated 30,000 direct, indirect and induced jobs, and is expected to take less than three years. The Foothill Extension will add 3.3 million passengers a year to the Gold Line and generate more than $2.7 million in fares. With the opening of the Eastside Extension and Foothill Extension, the Gold Line will carry an estimated 55,000 riders every day.
Metro’s Measure R Project Delivery Committee is set to host the last remaining Measure R workshop tomorrow – before the full board considers the Long Range Transportation Plan at next week’s board meeting. The meeting is set to take place at 9 am at the Metro building. For those who can’t attend, we’ll be covering the meeting live on our Twitter feed @iwillride.
Remember, while the Metro Board is expected to run through and review all-things Measure R, the issue set to take center-stage is a new proposal by Metro to possibly accelerate funding and construction of three rail projects: the regional connector, Gold Line Eastside Extension 2 and the Green Line to LAX. You can view tomorrow meeting’s handout here. LAist also has their take on the issue, and Streetsblog LA has an excellent write-up on the situation. Nobody’s sure how the plan will play out.
As for us? Well, considering the shovel-readiness of the Gold Line Foothill Extension, our supporters will be there tomorrow to ask Metro to amend the schedule to accelerate funding and construction of the most easily-accelerated of all rail projects. Mayor Villaraigosa seems to agree.
This is the latest email from Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority CEO Habib Balian. Here he talks about this Thursday’s upcoming Measure R workshop, a few light-rail projects that are being pushed onto an accelerated timetable, and support for Los Angeles Mayor Villaraigosa’s transportation goals.
Here is a reminder that Metro’s Measure R workshop will take place this Thursday, July 16, at 9 a.m. at Metro headquarters. Please note that last week’s update had an error – the workshop is this Thursday, not Wednesday.
At the workshop, the Metro board is expected to review the Measure R schedule, funding cashflow, project implementation and regional participation and prioritization issues. From the handout that Metro is distributing for the meeting (click here to see plan), the primary discussion regarding rail projects will be about finding ways to accelerate funding and scheduling. This should be good news for the Foothill Extension, as the Construction Authority has already shown Metro a business plan that can expedite opening of the line to Azusa by four years.
However, the attached document only mentions accelerating the regional connector, Gold Line Eastside Extension 2 and the Green Line to LAX. The proposal would move the opening dates of the regional connector from 2025 to 2018, the Eastside Extension from 2035 to 2018 and the Green Line to LAX from 2028 to 2017. Other projects would remain on the schedule set out by Measure R, which includes the Foothill Extension opening in 2017.
We will be at the workshop to ask that the schedule be amended to accelerate the Foothill Extension by four years.
Speaking of the opening date for Measure R projects, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has set a goal to “build eight Measure R rail projects on time or ahead of schedule” in his second term in office. We are very supportive of his efforts, especially his plan for the Foothill Extension, which he declares will be open in 2013. You can see on his website (click here or see the image below).
We look forward to his support as we work on our public-private partnership to construct the line and have it operating in 2013. We can put thousands of people back to work, stimulate the San Gabriel Valley and Los Angeles County economies, relieve congestion and increase Metro ridership. When the Eastside and Foothill Extensions are open, Gold Line boardings are estimated to exceed 55,000 a day.
The next step after Thursday’s Measure R workshop is the Metro board’s consideration of the Long Range Transportation Plan, which will formalize the funding plan and construction schedule for the Foothill Extension. The meeting is scheduled for July 23 at 9:30 a.m. at Metro. Please save the date.
This week’s Voice of the San Gabriel Valley will be an extended one. How else do you fit an entire fast-growing region’s worth of comments into a blog post?
The San Gabriel Valley Joint Powers Authority had met right before the last Metro Board meeting on June 25, and we were able to get some comments on the Gold Line Foothill Extension from a few representatives from around the San Gabriel Valley. In addition to posting comments from the residents, we’re also posting what these representatives had to say about the Foothill Extension – along with their messages for Metro.
Francis Delach, City Manager for the City of Azusa, on the economic benefits of the Metro Gold Line Foohtill Extension – and why a large employer particularly favors Azusa.
Scott Ochoa, City Manager for the City of Monrovia, explains how the Foothill Extension addresses congestion and environmental issues, sustainable development, proper use of old land, and the hope for a world-class region.
Sam Pedroza, City Councilman for the City of Claremont, speaks about transit-oriented development opportunities that the Foothill Extension presents. He also comments on the progress Metro has made.
“Respectfully I hereby request Metro to expedite this long awaited project “Gold Line”.” My young family needs it now and even more so in the future.”
“It is appalling that one of the world’s greatest metropolitan areas can’t have a public transportation worth speaking about. Is anyone concerned about the future?!”
“We need the Gold Line project to be completed. Do you know how much air quality will improve because people will ride the Gold Line instead of using the 210 FREEWAY!!”
[note: for our readers who receive our blog posts via email, an inadvertent draft of today’s article was sent out to your inboxes this morning. It was a mistake on ours and FeedBurner’s part (mostly FeedBurner – really mostly FeedBurner). Ignore that one! Thanks]
At least that’s what the upcoming iconic bridge means for Arcadia City Councilman Robert Harbicht. The San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently ran a story on the status of the site-testing for the bridge. While construction is about a year away, the progress is significant, as Harbicht told the newspaper:
“The San Gabriel Valley has been working very hard…to identify itself as a region, partly because of the political clout we should have, since we have 2 million people living here,” Harbicht said. “While it’s (the bridge) technically in Arcadia, we see it as more of a regional kind of thing.”
Of course, the preparation for the bridge is in anticipation of the arrival of the Gold Line Foothill Extension. We hope Councilman Harbicht agrees with us that a viable 21st century light-rail transportation system, combined with an iconic landmark, will put the San Gabriel Valley on the map and give it the distinction and recognition it deserves throughout Los Angeles County.
In our update on the bridge last week, we were wondering what the iconic structure would eventually look like. The process to pick a final design involves an 11-member panel, made up of various public officials from around the San Gabriel Valley and Caltrans, making a recommendation for the Construction Authority’s Board of Directors to consider on July 22, the day before the next Metro Board meeting. We’re eagerly anticipating the decision so we can see the winning design and celebrate another big step forward for the Foothill Extension. Unfortunately (in a fortunate way), for those who have seen the designs at the Authority, even they might have a hard time knowing what the final design of the bridge will encapsulate, as the Authority’s public art consultant Lesley Elwood explained to the Tribune:
“I did look at all the slide images that have been sent in and all of the sketches and I would say the committee would have trouble honing in on one,” Elwood said. “That’s a good thing.”
Many good things are coming for the San Gabriel Valley.
If you remember, the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority held an open bid for artists to submit designs for an iconic gateway structure over the 210 Freeway in Arcadia. Specifically, it will be a 739-foot railway bridge that will span the 210’s eastbound lanes near the Santa Anita Avenue exit.
Not wanting to waste or wait another minute, the Authority recently started prep work (see images below) on the bridge that will welcome drivers and future Foothill Extension riders to the San Gabriel Valley – from South Pasadena to Montclair. (What will it look like? Who knows? That’s the fun.) From the latest email update sent yesterday from Foothill Extension Construction Authority Chief Executive Officer Habib Balian: “…workers will be extracting soil samples from 100 feet below the surface in the right-of-way adjacent to Newcastle Park and along the eastbound lanes of the freeway. The soil will be analyzed to help engineers design the foundation for the bridge.”
The prep work is being done in anticipation of the Foothill Extension securing a commitment from Metro to build the line. Metro has included sufficient funding for construction to begin next June in the draft Long Range Transportation Plan, which is expected to be considered at the July 23 meeting. If Metro approves the LRTP with the Foothill Extension’s funding as is, then the Authority will be ready for everything to fall into place.
As for the design of the bridge, the Authority has received proposals from artists (video). The proposal period ended yesterday and, according to the schedule in the Request For Qualifications, the Authority’s board of directors is expected to select the artist at its July 22 meeting. We hope to hear more about this soon.
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