Metro to Host Community Meetings on Regional Connector Project (Source: LA Watts times)

Link: COMMUNITY MEETINGS

April 08, 2010

Metro to Host Community Meetings on Regional Connector Project

(Metro) — Community meetings on the Regional Connector Light Rail Transit project will take place throughout April. The meetings will consist of an open house, as well as a presentation highlighting the features of the new build alternative. There is no need to attend multiple meetings, as identical information will be presented at each.

The meetings will take place on the following dates and locations:

• April 9, noon to 1:30 p.m., at Los Angeles Central Public Library, 630 W. 5th St., Los Angeles. This meeting was tentatively scheduled to be broadcast live from www.metro. net/regionalconnector.

• April 13, 6:30 to 8 p.m., Lake Avenue Church, 393 N. Lake Ave., Pasadena.

• April 14, 2 to 3:30 p.m., and 6:30 to 8 p.m., Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. 1st St., Los Angeles.

• April 17, 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Los Angeles Theatre Center, 514 S. Spring St., Los Angeles.

Information: www.metro.net/regionalconnector, regionalconnector@metro.net.

High-speed rail authority narrows Merced-to-Fresno route choices (Source: The Modesto Bee)

Link: The Modesto Bee | High-speed rail authority narrows Merced-to-Fresno route choices

Posted on Fri, Apr. 09, 2010
High-speed rail authority narrows Merced-to-Fresno route choices
By Jonah Owen Lamb
jlamb@mercedsun-star.com

last updated: April 08, 2010 11:19:08 PM

The California High-Speed Rail Authority has winnowed the possible route its bullet train may take from Merced to Fresno.

It cut the number of routes it will continue to study to two, according to a route analysis released Thursday.

Although the decision gives local governments an idea of where the train may run, it pits several Merced County governments — as well as farm interests in the area — against Madera County's two largest cities.

The report narrowed the possible routes through Merced and Madera counties that the authority will continue to study. Those two routes are A1, which would run to the east of Highway 99 south of Merced along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway; and A2, which would run south near Highway 99 along the Union Pacific line.

The Greater Merced High-Speed Rail Committee's co-chairman, Lee Boese, said he's happy that its preferred route (A2) was kept as an option, the other alternative wasn't to his liking. "We are not happy with A1," said Boese.

Environmentally sensitive

Route A1, argued Boese, would be devastating for farmers and would take much longer to build, since it goes through more ecologically sensitive areas.

The cities of Madera and Chowchilla were watching the authority's decisions closely, since one of the routes would bypass both cities.

Madera City Manager David Tooley said the City Council hasn't taken an official position on either route, but that A2 would hurt the city the most.

"A2 would have the greatest impact to the city of Madera," he said.

A1 would have the least impact on Madera and Chowchilla, since it would bypass both cities, he added.

Although the impact of A2 would be massive to both cities and raise mitigation costs, said Tooley, there are other elements to consider. If either city wants the heavy maintenance yard, the A2 route is almost a must, he said.

"Certainly, there's a balancing act for us," he added.

The analysis tentatively removed several alternative routes, including A3, known as the Western Madera route; and A4, a hybrid between Union Pacific track alignment and Burlington Northern Santa Fe track.

No station at Castle, Amtrak site

The analysis also set aside two station sites in Merced: Castle Commerce Center and the Merced Amtrak station. Besides those changes, the analysis left just two routes crossing the valley north of the San Luis Reservoir.

Paul Barker, deputy director of the authority, said that though it has decided to focus on two routes in the Merced area, none of the paths will be official until the environmental impact report is completed in 2011. "For the layman, we are kind of dropping those (other routes) and not studying them any further," he said.

Whatever sections are further along in their environmental work will most likely be where the authority decides to start building, he said. That's because the federal government gave the authority $2.5 billion, which it has promised to match, and construction must start by 2011 or the agency will lose that funding.

The High-Speed Rail Authority's state governing board was formed in 1996. In November 2008, voters passed a $9 billion bond, setting in motion the building of a 220-mile-long high-speed train line from San Francisco to Los Angeles.

The Elusive 405 Corridor Rail Line (Source: CityWatch)

Link: CityWatch - An insider look at City Hall

The Elusive 405 Corridor Rail Line
Beyond Measure R
By Ken Alpern


Whenever I’ve raised the idea of the Expo Line, the Green Line to LAX, the Wilshire Subway, the Orange Line being a light rail line instead of a busway, or anything other than a mass transit effort, my feedback has always included someone commenting on the need to connect the San Fernando Valley with the Westside via a rail alternative to the 405 freeway. Interestingly enough, pretty much EVERY rail line has had its organized supporters…except the 405 Corridor Rail Line!

Why this is, I do not know—it is one of those many observations that aren’t accompanied by explanations. I see it but I don’t get it. I’ve not seen Valley and Westside grassroots organizations, websites or other efforts sprout up to support what most folks consider to be a no-brainer.

The closest thing anyone’s done to suggest a transit alternative to the 405 freeway (one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the nation, if not the world) is when Supervisor Yaroslavsky proposed a Busway to be established utilizing the HOV/carpool lanes being finalized in the middle of the Westside portion of the 405 freeway.

Transit nerds like Friends4Expo Co-Chair Darrell Clarke and Transit Coalition Executive Director Bart Reed and I have debated this issue for years, and as the Expo and Crenshaw Light Rail Lines convert from science fiction into the world of reality, and as the Wilshire Subway looks like something that will be built within our lifetimes, the role of this line, and how it can be routed, is a topic for debate that is increasingly relevant.

The following two maps, created by Darrell Clarke, enjoy a lot of interest and support among other transportation enthusiasts, and were made about a year ago before it was determined that the Crenshaw/LAX Line was indeed going to be a light rail. The first map shows a Crenshaw Blvd. and Lincoln Blvd. light rail line complex that both enjoy connectivity to the Expo and Green Lines, with LAX connectivity to boot. The 405 Corridor rail line is also a light rail that closely follows the 405 freeway to connect the Orange Line with the Wilshire and Expo Lines.

Note that the map, created by a Santa Monica resident and veteran of that city’s Planning Commission, does not have the Wilshire Subway to the Sea going entirely to the ocean. Very few transit advocates and planners have supported such a full extension westwards, because the 405/Wilshire Blvd. traffic jam begins in earnest at approximately Wilshire/Bundy, and it is doubtful that Santa Monica wants the Wilshire Blvd. corridor to be megadensified as far west as Lincoln Blvd. (which would normally accompany a subway).

Hence the argument that myself and others have pursued to have the Subway stop at approximately Wilshire/Bundy, and forego any expensive and unnecessary construction if the Expo Line makes it to the ocean (which it pretty much will). An interesting option would be for the Subway to proceed from Wilshire/Bundy to link with the Expo Line at Olympic/Bundy station, but it is also uncertain as to whether West Los Angeles wants that much densification there, either (it already has its hands full with the Bundy Village megadevelopment).

Regardless, when the Wilshire Subway finally reaches Westwood, the focus among grassroots and political leaders and thinkers will likely NOT be getting it as far west as the beach, but rather how to connect or extend it to the San Fernando Valley:



The second map has both outdated as well as rather likely features of what a 405 Corridor rail line would look like, but the thinking behind it follows a different paradigm than a rail routed along the 405 freeway. Rather it is a speedier (like 10 minutes or so!) and more direct subway route between the Valley and the Westside with only two stops between the Orange and Wilshire Subways (UCLA campus and Ventura Blvd.).

In this map, Lincoln and Crenshaw Blvds. have heavy rail subways that will likely NOT happen (Crenshaw Blvd. will be a light rail line, regardless of whether it’s above or below ground, or ground level), although any Crenshaw Corridor rail line extension north of the Expo Line will be underground to connect with the Wilshire Subway and, perhaps, the Red Line at Hollywood/Highland.

The details as to whether there would be one or two rail lines to connect the Red Line with the Purple and Crenshaw

Lines is a subject I’ve addressed in previous articles, and is somewhat off-topic for the issue of the 405 Corridor rail line. It is an issue, however, that will affect construction of the Wilshire/Purple Line and be a topic for future generations to confront. What we must confront now, however, is the question of whether a Valley-Westside rail line need closely track the 405 freeway:



My own personal epiphany on this topic came several years ago when I realized that successful rail lines either supplemented or replaced freeways that serve as major commercial corridors. The Expo and Gold (Pasadena, Eastside and Foothill) Lines track the 10, 710, 60 and 210 freeways, respectively, and the Wilshire Subway actually replaces the original freeway once planned in the 1940’s/50’s for where Wilshire Blvd. now is.

With the understanding that the Wilshire Blvd. corridor is so megadense as to need a subway/heavy rail line, I came to the conclusion that the Sepulveda/405 freeway corridor is just as megadense and would ALSO need a subway—perhaps one that directly connected to the Purple/Wilshire Line, because up to 150,000 riders/day or more would use if built right.

Considering that the uphill grade and narrowness of the Sepulveda Pass made a surface/elevated light rail difficult at best, and that such a light rail would reach full capacity rather quickly, and that there weren’t many good potential stops between Wilshire Blvd. and the Orange Line, I still believe that a straight shot with a 10 minute subway ride of 100 mph (like the Red Line does under the Cahuenga Pass) and with stops at the Orange Line, Ventura Blvd./Sherman Oaks, UCLA and Wilshire/Westwood would be remarkably attractive to many 405 commuters accessing one side or the other of the Sepulveda Pass.

I still await the formation of a grassroots group to promote and advocate for this 405 Corridor line (or Valley-Westside line), but I expect such a group won’t form until the Expo Line is completed, the 405 HOV/carpool lane project is completed, and the Wilshire Subway is on its way to Century City and points west.

Still, it is my strong prediction that the really BIG transportation improvement sought by Westsiders and Valley residents after the east-west rail lines are completed will be this elusive, probably wildly popular, but as of yet nonchampioned 405 Corridor Rail Line.

(Ken Alpern is a Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) and is both co-chair of the MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee and past co-chair of the MVCC Planning/Land Use Management Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and also chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at Alpern@MarVista.org.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.) -cw

Local Transportation Projects Could Create 500,000 Jobs & $68.8 Billion, Study Finds (Source: LAist)

Link: Local Transportation Projects Could Create 500,000 Jobs & $68.8 Billion, Study Finds - LAist

Local Transportation Projects Could Create 500,000 Jobs & $68.8 Billion, Study Finds



The one thing saving Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa from two black eyes right now is his 30/10 Plan, which would build 30 years of planned public transportation infrastructure--that's 12 projects, mostly rail--in 10 years. The money is already guaranteed thanks to the voter approved Measure R, a half-cent sales tax. Problem is, the anticipated $30 to $40 billion will come in over the next 30 years. Villaraigosa's solution is to ask congress for a loan upfront with a guarantee to pay it back. So far, it's garnering praise and today it's getting another boost.

A study released today concluded that all projects under Measure R, not just those under 30/10, could create over 500,000 part-time and full-time jobs with total earnings of $22.4 billion. That's an annual average of 16,900 jobs with $746 million in annual earnings.

The Construction Impact of Metro’s Measure R Transportation Projects (.pdf) by the non-profit Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) says most of the jobs would come from highway and freeway projects. 341,500, or 11,380 jobs a year, would be created to build new corridors, lanes, grade separations and sound wall barriers. The total regional economic output is projected at $46.3 billion.

Public transit projects, such as light rail, subway and bus rapid transit could create 5,530 jobs, earning of $244 million annually and generating $22.5 billion in total output for the regional economy.

Combined, road and public transit could generate up to $68.8 billion in economic output in the five-county Southern California region while creating more than 500,000 jobs over the 30-year period. An added bonus is the $9.3 billion in tax revenues that could occur.

Gregory Freeman, LAEDC's Vice President of Consulting and Policy and author of the study, points out that "the most important economic benefit of Measure R spending is the long-term improvement to the County’s transportation system... Our study shows that the massive investment in transportation infrastructure projects will also create business activity and hundreds of thousands of jobs during construction.”

By Zach Behrens in News on April 8, 2010 7:30 AM

Coverage resumes tomorrow: 4/8/20101

The mayor's innovative plan to complete regional transit projects in just 10 years is a win-win.

30/10 does the job - latimes.com

latimes.com
Editorial
30/10 does the job
The mayor's innovative plan to complete
regional transit projects in just 10 years is a win-win.


March 19, 2010

When Los Angeles County voters agreed in 2008 to raise their sales taxes to improve local public transit, they may not have considered that some of the new trains wouldn't start running during their lifetimes. Measure R promised a slate of vital projects, including an extension of the Wilshire Boulevard subway, light-rail lines to Los Angeles International Airport and the Eastside, and busways in the San Fernando Valley -- but some won't be built until the end of the initiative's 30-year time span.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa thinks that's too long to wait. He's absolutely right.

The mayor has been spending a lot of time in Washington lately talking up his "30/10" proposal, one of the more innovative ideas to come from City Hall. The gist: Villaraigosa wants to shorten the completion of a dozen Measure R projects to a decade. It's not clear how this would be done, but the simplest and most direct way would be for the federal government to serve as L.A.'s banker, supplying the money up front to build the new transit lines. The county would pay the Feds back over the course of 30 years with the $40 billion that the tax hike is expected to raise.

Villaraigosa says his plan would create 166,000 construction jobs at a time of soaring unemployment. Such figures should be viewed with skepticism, but there is no question that the infusion of federal cash would have a big stimulative effect in Southern California, where the construction sector is particularly in need of a boost. Over the longer term, it also would reduce gridlock, create alternatives to driving amid rising gasoline prices and clean our notoriously foul air. And best of all, as Villaraigosa has been repeatedly stressing in Washington, it wouldn't add to the federal deficit because the money would come as a loan, not a handout.

One California senator, Democrat Barbara Boxer, is very much on board with the 30/10 plan. But new ideas can be tough to sell in the Capitolsays his plan. We'd urge the rest of the California delegation to learn more about it. We can't think of a reason why lawmakers in either party would object.

Well, OK, we can think of one. Led by county Supervisor Mike Antonovich, some north county and San Gabriel Valley politicians fret that the cash infusion would discourage federal investment in projects that aren't included in Measure R, such as a future light-rail line to Ontario International Airport.

Backers of this speculative venture have been a deeply divisive force, threatening to derail the far worthier Wilshire subway and campaigning against Measure R even though it will benefit their region. Voters didn't listen to these voices when they approved the sales tax hike, and neither should members of Congress.

Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times