Link: Our View: Two tracks for Gold Line East - Pasadena Star-News
Our View: Two tracks for Gold Line East
Posted: 01/16/2010 06:14:07 AM PST
Early battle lines are already being drawn, pitting Pico Rivera, Montebello, Santa Fe Springs and Whittier against a coalition of 60-Freeway cities for a future leg of the Metro Gold Line light-rail train.
It's a healthy competition. Cities recognizing a regional problem - freeway gridlock - rolling up their sleeves to advocate for a local mass transit option.
But the fighting ultimately is unnecessary.
We say, why choose between the two proposed routes of the Gold Line East? Metro should build both.
Arguments are strong for both routes, which are the two remaining alternatives being studied.
The Washington Boulevard route would send the line south on Garfield Avenue to Washington Boulevard through Montebello, Pico Rivera and Santa Fe Springs, ending at the edge of Whittier's Uptown adjacent to Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, which has some 3,500 employees.
It would link a freeway-less Whittier to the outside world for the first time and open up possible expansion into Orange County.
It would serve the needs of low- and middle-income residents, connecting them to East Los Angeles and jobs in downtown L.A. and through other train connections, to points west. And this route would also provide a boost to Whittier job sites and retail clusters.
Of course the southeast county region, the "Gateway Cities" region, should be connected to the rest of L.A. County.
Likewise, a train extending farther east along the right-of-way of the Pomona (60) Freeway (not in the middle of the freeway but on the shoulder) would connect commuters in Montebello, South El Monte and even El Monte (through a shuttle link) to Los Angeles jobs. Also, by the time funding is awarded and the project is completed in 2037, it could pick up weekend riders at Whittier Narrows (the site of increasingly well attended celebrations for Mexican Independence Day, Cinco De Mayo, Asian festivals) as well as the soon-to-be-built Discovery Center.
But the biggest potential for a weekend trip generator would be the possible extension to Ed Roski's Industry NFL stadium in the hills near the junction of the 57 and 60 freeways. What a plus to have a local train actually go to a destination! That would be a first for Los Angeles County.
Both scenarios - both city coalitions - make strong arguments. To choose between the two rail routes would wrongly leave out one of these scenarios. We believe both areas would have the population and boardings to support rail line extensions by the completion date for one, which is 27 years from now.
What are the other transportation alternatives? There are no new freeways being planned to handle population growth in the region. Carpooling and bicycles can only make a small impact. And Star Trek-like transporting probably will still have a few years to go. Rail lines are the most cost-effective alternative to single-occupancy commuting.
So let the competition continue - for now. It's healthy to have cities working one side or the other. And when new data is released on the feasibility of these routes in 2011, perhaps one route will emerge as the first to be built, and the other as the next.
But until then, we are envisioning both legs of a growing Gold Line East serving these two sub-regions. It's a vision for the future we can get behind.
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