Photo by kla4067
It’s a good time to be a transit advocate who also likes public celebrations. While the Gold Line Eastside Extension is celebrating its first day of service this Sunday, another Gold Line extension is also taking the time to highlight a brighter transit future for its corridor residents: the Foothill Extension!
The Foothill Extension is celebrating last month’s triumph by unveiling the first of six station signs at the future Monrovia station site next Saturday. There will be food and activities for the entire family, and everyone is welcome.
We’re encouraging you to join us for the celebration – which will take place on November 21, 2009, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM at the Historic Santa Fe Train Depot in Monrovia, CA. In addition to residents joining in on the fun, the San Gabriel Valley delegation of elected officials will also be in attendance. Members of Congress, the State Assembly, the County Board of Supervisors, and local City Council offices are confirmed to attend. The unveiling ceremony will start at 10:20 AM sharp, so don’t be late!
Good Times Are Rolling
Not a week has gone by since the approval of the LRTP in October without a congratulatory piece appearing in the local papers – the latest of which can sum up how the San Gabriel Valley happily feels about the prospects of a light-rail line coming into the region. The Pasadena Star-News editorial board recently took the time to thank the elected officials who had fought tooth-and-nail for the Foothill Extension over the past few years, the Metro Board of Directors for showing a commitment to the Foothill Extension, and the City of Monrovia for (lack of a better term) taking one for the team in order to see the line a reality in 2013.
In addition, the paper reminds readers just how important last month’s LRTP vote was for the region:
This project, now funded east from Pasadena to the Azusa/Citrus College station, will begin creating positive economic waves in terms of contracts and jobs beginning now through its completion in 2013.
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By extending the Gold Line light-rail tracks from east Pasadena at Sierra Madre Villa Street to Azusa, and then, eventually, to Montclair and maybe even to Ontario International Airport, it will remove many commuters from cars, put them into trains and thereby relieve congestion on the traffic-choked Foothill (210) Freeway. The light-rail system will finally reach east San Gabriel Valley and eventually Inland Empire residents – precisely the neighborhoods where people drive long distances to and from jobs in Pasadena, Glendale/Burbank and Los Angeles. By adding choices for commuters, it will speed up travel and reduce air pollution.
See you all on November 21st.