From the Daily News (formerly the Green Sheet and the Valley News): Orange Line extension is vital for Valley transit

Link: Orange Line extension is vital for Valley transit - LA Daily News

Orange Line extension is vital for Valley transit
Updated: 06/23/2009 04:53:10 PM PDT

CONNECTIVITY is key. The ability to make seamless connections from bus to train to subway makes public transit faster, more convenient and more appealing to potential riders.

That's why the Orange Line extension to Chatsworth is so exciting. The $225 million, four-mile extension will link the busway with the Chatsworth Metrolink station. It will be a great option for workers traveling from the North and West Valley to jobs in Warner Center and Canoga Park, and a further expansion of reliable public transit network in the Valley.

Today's groundbreaking almost takes the sting out of the half-percent sales tax increase for public transit that takes effect July 1. Voters in November approved Measure R, which raises the Los Angeles County sales tax to 8.75 percent for 30 years.

Nobody likes to pay more taxes, especially now when people are already pinching their pennies. But the passage of Measure R provides a reliable stream of funding that allows the MTA to speed up the Orange Line extension construction by three years. So Valley residents will be able to ride the busway extension by 2013, instead of 2016.

The construction along the MTA right-of-way means the eviction of some 60 businesses, including used-car lots, landscaping companies and metal supply stores, which is an unfortunate loss for those owners. This is a tough time to move a business.

But the Orange Line extension works for the greater good of the Valley. Ridership on the existing Orange Line busway, between the North Hollywood Red Line station and Warner Center, has already surpassed MTA's original projections of 22,000 daily boardings by 2020.

Last year, after gas prices hit $4.50 a gallon, commuters flocked to the line for a reasonably priced transit option. Daily boardings hit a record 27,987 in September.

There is clearly pent-up demand for a safe, reliable mode of public transportation, and extending the Orange Line is one more piece to complete the transit puzzle.