Local students, college officials, and community leaders will gather on May 7 to call Los Angeles County's transit agency to fund the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension.

College officials, students urge funding for transit extension - News

College officials, students urge funding for transit extension
Emily Rios
Issue date: 5/6/09 Section: News


Local students, college officials, and community leaders will gather on May 7 to call Los Angeles County's transit agency to fund the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension.

The rally, which will take place at Citrus College's campus center mall at 11 a.m., is part of the I Will Ride campaign.

The group is calling on Metro, Los Angeles County's transit agency, to begin funding the line in 2010 with funds from Measure R.

Measure R, a half-cent sales tax increase, was approved by Los Angeles County voters in November 2008 and is expected to generate $40 billion dollars over the next 30 years to fund transportation projects and provide traffic relief.

Metro is expected to make the decision regarding funding priorities and project timelines during its May or June board meeting.

"The Metro board, at its meeting Feb. 26, approved a plan to seek federal stimulus package funding that included $150 million for the Gold Line Foothill Extension." CEO of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, Habib Balian wrote in a February posting on the I Will Ride website. "The good news is that the Metro board in a unanimous vote officially supported the project and directed Metro staff to make sure that the Gold Line Foothill Extension is ready to seek federal funding when the money becomes available."

The extension would bring the Gold Line from Pasadena to Azusa and then in later phases to Montclair/Claremont and eventually to Ontario Airport.

"It is undoubtedly important that we support this process," Associated Students of Citrus College Vice President Abigail Thompson said. "As we progress toward going green, people are thinking about how they can cut costs. Also, with the Gold Line we will be able to effectively draw more students to campus since the station will be across the street."

The extension will be beneficial to students throughout the San Gabriel Valley because once fully completed more than 28,00 students and 3,500 faculty/staff across 12 campuses will be within a half-mile radius of stations.

"Students and faculty members recognize that connectivity among these institutions of higher learning can create an unmatched academic atmosphere for the region that encourages an exchange of ideas and having a broader exposure to the other campuses. It is precisely because of the academic community that the I Will Ride campaign was created," Balian said.

Students have been a driving force behind moving this project along.

"Students created this campaign because they see the value of the project, and are also willing to fight for their fair share of Measure R dollars so that they can begin to see the benefits as soon as 2013 with the completion of first phase of the extension to Azusa." Balian said. "The next step is getting the train as far as Claremont, where it will connect with the Claremont Colleges."

In addition to helping local academic institutions, the extension will also benefit local economies, generating more than 30,000 construction-related jobs and thousands of jobs in transit-oriented developments, according to Balian.

For more information on the rally or the Gold Line Foothill Extension, visit www.iwillride.org.

Emily Rios can be reached at Rios_EmilyC@yahoo.com