Ready to Ride

by Gary Toebben

Ready to Ride

This past Saturday, thousands gathered in the San Gabriel Valley for the opening of the Gold Line Extension, which connects Pasadena to Azusa, through the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte and Irwindale. This $1 billion, 11.5 mile extension was funded with Measure R dollars approved by the voters in 2008.

The Gold Line, which is now the County’s longest light-rail line at more than 30 miles, is exactly what voters envisioned when they passed Measure R and approved a half cent sales tax increase. Measure R promised to expand the County’s transit system, reduce automobile emissions, create jobs and relieve gridlock.  The momentum will continue on May 20, when Metro begins service on the Expo Line Phase II. The 6.6 mile extension from Culver City to Santa Monica will add seven new stations and allow passengers to ride from Downtown to the beach in one seat. This $1.6 billion project was also funded largely by Measure R.

In the next few years, we will see the opening of the Regional Connector, a 1.9 mile alignment that will connect the Gold Line to the Blue, Expo, Red and Purple Lines; and the opening of the Crenshaw/LAX Transit Line, connecting the Expo Line to the Green Line and ultimately to LAX, via an automated people mover. These two major projects are also being funded by Measure R dollars. L.A. County’s investment of local tax dollars for transportation has also paved the way for federal funding that requires a local match. The Chamber advocates for federal transportation funds every year when we travel to Washington DC, and because of the availability of Measure R funds, our joint lobbying efforts with Metro have been very successful. 

This Friday, Metro will publicly release a draft project list for a potential county-wide ballot measure in November that would extend and/or augment Measure R. Councils of government, business groups, non-profits and other stakeholders have spent a year vetting priorities. The Chamber has provided input to Metro on performance metrics and the kind of projects which we believe will reduce congestion and benefit the largest number of county residents.   

Last Saturday’s opening of the Gold Line Extension was exciting. I am looking forward to many more celebrations as a result of Measure R, beginning with May 20 when the Expo Line is Ready to Ride to Santa Monica. I hope you will plan to join us. 

And that’s The Business Perspective.