Mayor pushes for Subway to the Sea, 'regional connector' - LA Daily News
Mayor pushes for Subway to the Sea, 'regional connector'
Daily News Wire Services
Updated: 02/19/2010 11:42:50 PM PST
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Friday urged Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood to provide federal funding for a segment of the so-called Subway to the Sea, as well as a "regional connector" that would link several light-rail lines through downtown.
LaHood was in Los Angeles, along with Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., as part of a nationwide tour to solicit public opinion on which projects should be prioritized in the next surface transportation bill.
"We're hoping that as you reconsider the reauthorization (of the transportation bill), that you look to the fact that we're not only the city with the dirtiest air, the worst traffic in the United States of America, we're also a city and a county that has approved investing taxpayer money in transportation," Villaraigosa told LaHood, referring to Measure R.
The first project endorsed by the mayor would extend the Purple Line - which currently ends at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue - by 8.7 miles.
The subway extension would be built under Wilshire Boulevard and pass through Beverly Hills and Century City before ending in Westwood.
The extension is projected to cost $4.1 billion, which would be raised over 30 years through Measure R, a half-percent city sales tax increase approved by voters.
If enough funding could be secured - not only from the federal government but also from the private sector - Villaraigosa wants to extend the subway to the Pacific Ocean. Building
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the entire Subway to the Sea is projected to cost $6.1 billion.
Lisa Hansen with the mayor's press office said if enough federal funding can be secured, the money could be used either to build the entire Subway to the Sea over 30 years, or extend the subway to Westwood in 10 years.
The second project is a 1.7-mile, light-rail line connection in downtown Los Angeles, from First and Alameda streets to Seventh and Figueroa streets.
The projects, which would create thousands of temporary construction jobs, are among a dozen that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is hoping to implement over 30 years.
Villaraigosa, however, wants to create a public-private partnership that could finish the projects in 10 years.
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