LA wins again in the battle for light-rail dollars; Inland cities​ demand answers – San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and LA Daily News

The following excerpts appeared in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and LA Daily News on February 11, 2023. To read the full article (may require subscription), click here.

LA wins again in the battle for light-rail dollars; Inland cities​ demand answers – 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. (photo courtesy of the Metro Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority)

By Steve Scauzillo

February 11, 2023

[excerpt]:

The Jan. 31 announcement from the California State Transportation Authority (CalSTA) to not fund the L Line (formerly Gold) extension another 3.2 miles from Pomona to Montclair prompted numerous theories as to why the would-be historic project was snubbed.

What makes a worthy rail project?

[Marty Greenstein, assistant deputy secretary for communications for CalSTA] said the Caltrans panel analyzes applications to determine if they meet the state’s criteria. A list of criteria include: reduction of vehicle miles traveled, reduction of greenhouse gases caused by converting single-car drivers into mass transit users, and connectivity to other transit lines.

The L Line’s stations in Pomona, Claremont and Montclair are the only three that would also have Metrolink (San Bernardino-to-LA) passenger rail stations, a unique design that would increase ridership on both systems and produce interconnectivity, studies show. The Claremont and Montclair L Line stations would add 8,000 daily boardings or about half of the line’s total adjusted ridership, the Authority reported.

“By getting it to Claremont and Montclair, these last stations will generate the biggest riders benefits,” said Claremont Mayor Ed Reece, who chairs the Construction Authority board.

Completion of the line to Montclair would take about 15,000 car trips off the roads each day and reduce 26.7 million vehicle miles travelled annually, eliminating 1.75 metric tons of carbon emissions that add to global climate change. The project would create 5,500 jobs and generate $860 million in economic output as well as $13 million in tax revenues, [Foothill Gold Line CEO Habib F. Balian] said.

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