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Thursday, 29 September, 2011 10:34 AM Mayor Villaraigosa announces plans to reduce traffic congestion in L.A.
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LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa revealed his plans to lessen traffic backups and lower the amount of smog in America's No. 2 city. Villaraigosa is asking for the public's help to get the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) bill passed in Congress. Since 2005, the number of Metro Rapid bus routes in Los Angeles has doubled to 26. In addition, officials plan to convert 25 miles of carpool lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways into toll roads to further reduce traffic. He spoke to Town Hall Los Angeles inside the downtown L.A. Marriott on Tuesday afternoon. In 1994, Villaraigosa was elected to the California State Assembly. Four years later, he was named the first assembly speaker from L.A. in 25 years. In 2003, he won a city council seat in Los Angeles' 14th district. He later served as president of the L.A. chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and the American Federation of Government Employees. Then, he served as organizer of the United Teachers Los Angeles. Finally, he was appointed L.A. mayor in 2005. "We cannot, we will now, put the recession in the rearview mirror until we can put people back to work," Villaraigosa said. "We cannot compete against the world's dynamos, China, India, Brazil, if our rails are rusty and our bridges are crumbling. I believe in California, particularly in Los Angeles. We're still trailblazers, innovators. The problem is too big for us to solve all on our own--we need to band together. As a state and as a nation, we have to stop aiming low. We have a long, overreliance on the single-passenger automobile. With more commute options, less congestion, residents could spend less time in the cars. More time in the things that matter--playing with their kids, talking with their neighbors or enjoying a day at the beach." The TIFIA loan, known as H.R. 1123, was introduced in Congress on March 16. It will provide funding for the design, acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of one or more transportation projects that reduces emissions of greenhouse gases or has a positive impact on congestion. The bill places a cap of no more than 30 percent of its funding from Federal grand funds. Villaraigosa encouraged attendees to contact their legislators to help this loan get passed. In 2006, officials broke ground on the first phase of the Metro Rail Exposition Line, which runs from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City. It will make stops at L.A. Live, USC and South Los Angeles. Expo Phase One should open by Nov. 2011 or March 2012. "Close your eyes for a moment, they can stroll from rail platforms and bus stops to catch Hollywood's newest release or to taste the latest creation from the restaurant around the corner," the L.A. mayor added. "They would experience the city in a new way. Not as a place to drive through on the way to the office or on the way home. This was the vision I offered in 2005. It can transform the way Angelenos commute. We're now modernizing LAX for the first time since the Olympic torch last burned at the Coliseum. This will generate 40,000 jobs over the life of the project. We're in line for a $646 million TIFIA loan. We're right here finalists for a loan to help us with those projects. These and other road, rail and bus projects will create 166,000 jobs." Expo Line Phase Two will run from Culver City to downtown Santa Monica. Ground was broken on Sept. 12 and it is expected to be open to the public by 2015. Phase Two of the Gold Line is currently under construction. It will extend the light rail corridor from its terminus in East Pasadena to the eastern edge of Azusa. That project will also be finished by 2015. "By 2013, the end of my term, all of the traffic signals in Los Angeles will be synchronized," he explained. "In fact, as we speak today, 92 percent of them are synchronized. The only big city in the United States of America that can say that, by the way. Reducing your daily commute and reducing carbon emissions in our city by nearly a metric ton. We hit the 20 percent renewable goal at the department of water and power, the only public utility in a big city to accomplish that goal. We owe a great debt of gratitude to the voters for having the foresight to invest in this sales tax increase. We will double the size of our rail system. Every year, we will remove half of a million pounds of pollutants from our air, reduce our use of gasoline by 10.3 million gallons and reduce the miles driven on our roads by 191 million." In addition, a regional connector is planned to create a new light-rail corridor through downtown Los Angeles. It will connect the Blue and Expo Lines to the Gold Line and Union Station. An environmental impact report was completed in September 2010. Metro hopes construction will be done by 2018 or 2020. Los Angeles voters approved the half-cent sales tax increase in November 2008 during our nation's recession. It was Villaraigosa's sixth time speaking at Town Hall Los Angeles. "What we're focused on at FAST is projects that can be completed in two to five years without major capital expenditures," said Jim Thomas, chairman of Fixing Angelenos Stuck in Traffic (FAST). "The mayor is also focused on very major transportation projects that will change the face of this city. Projects such as subway to the sea, light rail to the west side and so on. He realizes also that with these major projects, we still have to concentrate on the smaller things. We're fortunate to not only have a mayor who talks about the subject, but is out there on a day to day basis making these things happen." An audience member asked the mayor about the future of the proposed Farmers Field, a new football stadium to be located next to the Staples Center in the L.A. Live shopping and entertainment district downtown. "We had opposition when we wanted to expand L.A. Live, we have opposition when we wanted to build a convention center hotel, we had opposition when we wanted to expand our convention center and put a football field," he answered. "But every time, we've met with opposition, we've worked with that opposition to move the ball ahead." The next meeting of Town Hall Los Angeles will feature Peter S. Lowy, CEO of the Westfield Group. His talk will be titled "California (Still) the Land of Economic Opportunity?." It is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 11 at noon inside the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles. For more information about Town Hall Los Angeles or to purchase tickets to an upcoming meeting, visit www.townhall-la.org. Related Story: Seventh Annual "Allstate America's Best Drivers Report™" Reveals Safest Driving Cities
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com "I believe in California," he said. "We're still trailblazers, innovators."
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com "Boy, when is the last time I've been at the beach?" the mayor joked.
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com Jim Thomas is the founder and CEO of the Thomas Property Group.
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com He also serves as the chairman of FAST (Fixing Angelenos Stuck in Traffic).
PHOTO BY JASON RZUCIDLO / ©AMERICAJR.com Phase Two of the Expo Line will take passengers from L.A. to Culver City and finally stopping at the Santa Monica Pier.
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