The following excerpt appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and LA Daily News on March 24, 2023. To read the full article (may require subscription), click here.
LA Metro makes Gold Line Foothill extension its No. 1 priority for state funds – San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and LA Daily News
Crews construct walls for future Pomona station platform of the L (formerly Gold) Line on Feb. 8, 2023. The Azusa to Pomona project will be completed in early 2025. But the full extension — to Claremont and Montclair — did not receive funding from the state on Jan. 31, 2023 and is in jeopardy. LA Metro made the project its No. 1 priority for state funding on March 23, 2023, and is pushing for inclusion in the upcoming state budget. (photo courtesy of the Metro Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority)
By Steve Scauzillo
March 24, 2023
[excerpt]:
LA Metro’s board on Thursday, March 23, declared the 3.2-mile Gold Line Foothill Extension to Claremont and Montclair its number one priority for the next round of state funding grants, including its consideration for inclusion in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2023-2034 state budget. The foothill line was Metro’s second place priority in a recent round of state grants.
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Nine state lawmakers, acting as part of the San Gabriel Valley Legislative Caucus, wrote a Jan. 31 letter to Metro bluntly stating their unhappiness after the state’s light rail funding awards were announced. They wrote: “We were disappointed to see The California State Transportation Agency fund the Inglewood Transit Connector before the number two and three priorities LA Metro submitted for the transit dollars made available for Southern California in the 2022-23 budget.”
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Local congressional members also wrote to Metro, asking that it move the Gold Line extension to Montclair to its highest priority for state funds.
“The unfunded project is environmentally cleared, has undergone advanced engineering and pre-construction utility work and is shovel ready,” wrote Reps. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena and Grace Napolitano, D-El Monte. “The small portion of the system planned in San Bernardino County is equally ready and has already secured full funding.”
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“Yesterday’s action was important, as Sacramento continues to support funding for transit in the upcoming budget cycles,” wrote Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib Balian in an emailed response on Friday, March 24.