The following editorial appeared in the 5/6/12 edition of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune.

IN a scene from that wonderful movie “L.A. Story,” which probed the foibles of life in our merry megalopolis, Steve Martin emerges from his house, gets in his car and drives to his neighbor’s home next door.

Funny? Sure. True? Exaggerated, perhaps, but not far from reality.

Let’s face it, we have always been in love with our cars and are loath to abandon them in favor of public transportation.

There are reasons for that. First, we were blessed with the best freeway system in the world which, on a good day, could whisk us anywhere in Southern California with a minimum of fuss.

Second, we live in a place that defines the word sprawl. It forces us to go to great lengths to go great lengths. People here measure distance in time, not mileage. Mileage is irrelevant on the eastbound 210 at 5 p.m.

Third, for years the alternative to the auto was a fleet of dirty, diesel-belching buses overseen by uncaring bureaucrats whose real purpose seemed to be to alienate the public.

Now, we are on the cusp of change. Our torrid affair with the automobile may be turning cold. And alternatives abound.

To illustrate: I was sitting in an endless traffic jam on the 101 one day when I looked to my right and saw a guy in slick, turbo-powered, six-figure Porsche. He was wearing racing gloves, the kind you’d don to drive in the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. It looked particularly goofy since this guy never got out of first gear.
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The point is that it’s hard to love your car, even a sleek and sexy one, when you spend your days awash in a sea of red taillights. No matter how posh the ride, you’re just wasting a sizable chunk of your life and mental health while sucking up five-dollar gas.

Now, however, we have a bustling, thriving downtown that is home to a state-of-the-art subway/light rail/bus system that can seamlessly and cheaply transport people to where they live or work or play.

Witness the new Expo Line, which runs from downtown past Staples Center, L.A. Live and USC to Culver City and eventually to Santa Monica.

And there’s more to come.

Within the next decade, our very own Gold Line will expand eastward to Azusa. A new subway route through downtown Los Angeles will link the Metro Blue Line, Gold Line and Expo Line. The Purple Line will run from Union Station through MacArthur Park along Wilshire Boulevard to Westwood.

Voila! Access to sporting events, major universities, museums, nightlife, even the beach, without backing your car out of the driveway.

We’re becoming just like New York, London and Paris. We’re just a century late.

Will people use it? The answer appears to be yes. Metro bus and rail ridership has jumped during the first two months of this year, thanks in part to soaring gas prices. The Metro Gold Line from downtown to Pasadena saw the biggest spike: up nearly 22 percent over boardings from a year earlier. Orange Line commuter traffic also carried significantly more passengers than a year ago, up by 18 percent, and the Blue and Green lines also drew more commuters.

From which we can extrapolate that a new generation of commuters are beginning to shun Sig Alerts and budget-busting gas prices in favor of clean, sophisticated public transit.

For those of us of a certain age who have lived in and loved Los Angeles for decades, it is a development both astounding and bittersweet.

Astounding in that a subway/light-rail system was talked about for decades and seemed as remote as time travel. Now, it is actually up and running.

Bittersweet in that we once had a great rail system that served every corner of Southern California. We’ve spent billions just to get us back to where we were almost a century ago.

Back then, we had the Pacific Electric Railroad, the largest such railway in the world, connecting Los Angeles with San Bernardino County, Riverside County and Orange County with 1,000 miles of track. We also had the Yellow Cars which serviced central Los Angeles and surrounding communities.

It didn’t last. It was felled by corporate skullduggery, poor planning and a region that grew so fast it couldn’t keep up with itself.

General Motors and a number of other companies bought and dismantled our streetcars and electric trains, then sold local governments buses which they manufactured.

Following World War II, politicians decided to construct a web of freeways across the region because it was seen as a better solution than a new mass transit system or an upgrade of the Pacific Electric.

Ironically, congestion also helped spell the end to commuter rail. Most of the Red and Yellow cars ran on city streets and the region was becoming so congested because of the post-war population boom, the trains found it impossible to run on time.

It was a sad and costly chapter in our history. Let’s hope we grab on to the future while it is there for the taking.

Robert Rector is a former editor with the Pasadena Star-News and Los Angeles Times.

By Brenda Gazzar, SGVN

With a $764 million funding gap facing the Azusa-to-Claremont segment of the Gold Line, state senators are joining the Gold Line Construction Authority's effort to make sure the Foothill Extension project is not left out in the cold as it vies for potential transit funds.

The Construction Authority board this week approved an updated expense plan and timeline identifying the cost for the entire 23-mile Pasadena-to-Claremont extension as nearly $1.6 billion, of which $810 million has already been allocated, with full completion planned for 2021.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) - the county's transportation planning agency - has already funded the Gold Line's 11.5-mile, $750 million Pasadena-to-Azusa segment with Measure R revenues. However, the 11.5-mile, $780 million Azusa-to-Claremont segment of the extension has yet to be funded.

On behalf of the San Gabriel Valley Legislative Caucus, state Senators Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, and Bob Huff, R-Walnut, urged the Metro board of directors in a letter Wednesday to include the the Azusa-to-Claremont segment in its updated expense plan.

"I want to make sure the San Gabriel Valley gets its fair share of transportation funding (from Metro)," Hernandez said Friday. "That's why we sent the letter, to make sure we get (the Gold Line) to Claremont ... It seems like most of the money would go to Los Angeles or to the West side" otherwise.

Doug Tessitor, chairman of the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority and a Glendora councilman, agreed.

"We are basically trying to make sure that Metro and everybody else that is interested recognizes that our total funding requirements to complete the Gold Line extension go all the way to Claremont," he said. "We need about another $700 million dollars to get that accomplished."

Construction Authority officials hope the bill of Assemblyman Mike Feuer, D-West Hollywood, becomes law so that voters in November can consider an indefinite extension of Measure R's half-cent sales tax that Metro would use to accelerate funding for transit projects.

There was not enough money in the original Measure R approved in 2008, which is set to sunset in 2039, to fund the full needs of the Gold Line and all other transit projects in the county, Tessitor said.

Now that politicians are talking about extending the measure indefinitely, "we need to make sure (Metro and voters) are aware that there's a shortfall in our project," Tessitor said.

Metro officials said they recognize the measure calls for building the line to Claremont. "If and when additional funding becomes available, the Metro board will consider a Construction Authority request for funding," a spokeswoman said in a statement.

Metro board member John Fasana, also the mayor of Duarte, said it's still unclear what the extension of Measure R would mean in real terms for transit projects.

"The Gold Line (Foothill Extension) is certainly one that's always been near and dear to my heart but I know there are other projects in the San Gabriel Valley that there is interest in," including the Alameda-Corridor East project and extending the Gold Line from its East L.A. terminus to cities such as South El Monte or Montebello. "We need to look at that."

But not all local politicians are sold on the idea of the half-cent sales tax extension. Sierra Madre Councilman Chris Koerber, a financial planner, said he's believes all taxes put to voters should have a sunset clause.

"Whenever you have a tax that does not have a sunset clause, instead of becoming a cap, it becomes a floor and expenses run right up because there's money available," he said.

Having a sunset clause in a tax, Koerber said, ensures that new residents will have the right to exercise their opinion on the matter periodically by voting.

Tessitor said if the measure is not extended, the Construction Authority will have to aggressively seek funding from "virtually every source that's available up to and including the federal government, the state government and obviously our local sales tax revenue."

Taxes paid by San Gabriel Valley residents would be the most logical place to get the needed funding, he said.

Construction Authority officials contend that the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension is the only project that owns the right of way and has such a high level of support.

It's anticipated the gap funding would be needed starting in 2016 with construction of the extension completed in 2021. The Pasadena-to-Azusa segment is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

Environmental clearance for the Azusa-to-Claremont segment is expected later this year, according to Construction Authority officials. Preliminary engineering and design for that segment will take a few years to complete before construction can begin.

By Jacquelyn Ryan Monday, April 16, 2012

At Myrtle Avenue and Duarte Road in Monrovia, there’s a defunct train station with busted windows and holes in the walls. Just to the south is a recycling center and carwash. And it’s not much better to the north, the site of a vacant lot surrounded by a chain-link fence.

Decrepit, yes. But what Blaine Fetter sees is something entirely different: a neighborhood of 500 residences of young professionals and families, and a gleaming 125,000-square-foot office building filled with bustling workers.

That’s the transformation he expects from his Station Square development as the Metro Gold Line is extended from Pasadena to Azusa, with a stop along the way in Monrovia.

“Being close to transit always creates the most value,” said the developer. “Residents can travel without the use of an automobile and can walk to work. It’s the way it used to work before automobiles, and that’s the direction we are all headed.”

Fetter and his Monrovia development company, Samuelson & Fetter LLC, aren’t the only ones who see the opportunity.

After the years-long recession, there isn’t much private development going on across Los Angeles County, but if there’s an exception, it’s the transit-oriented developments that are cropping up along the extensions of the county’s light-rail network. And the San Gabriel Valley has its share.

More than a half-dozen projects, residential and commercial, are planned or under way within a half-mile radius of the 11.5-mile extension to Azusa and, ultimately, a proposed 12.5-mile extension to Montclair.

Also taking a key role in the development are public officials, who are working with private developers, rezoning land for proposed projects and trying to woo even more investment.

Buttressing the activity: projections that the valley of 1.9 million residents could add a half-million more residents over the next 25 years. With freeways already clogged, there are expectations many will be eager to live near the line, which can whiz them to jobs and places like downtown Los Angeles.

But for all the optimism, building out the transit-oriented developments is not without challences. The dissolution of redevelopment agencies by the state this year has set back some planned projects, while other developers are being cautious, waiting for the trains to arrive before making commitments.

Still, Katherine Aguilar Perez, a strategic planning consultant at Estolano LeSar Perez Advisors in Los Angeles, said the line is providing an unusual chance for the revitalization of decades-old bedroom communities ripe for redevelopment.

“The opportunity transit-oriented developments have for cities is tremendous,” said Aguilar Perez, a former assistant to the mayor of Pasadena. “If planned, developed and designed well, they can create catalytic opportunities for new businesses.”

Developments

The Gold Line extension, also known as the Foothill extension, is planned in three phases that would eventually connect the Foothill cities with the more than 70-mile rail network across the county through a stop at downtown L.A.’s Union Station. Managed by the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the project’s first $735 million phase is fully funded, largely with county sales tax dollars dedicated to transportation.

Construction began in 2010 on the phase, which features six stops between Pasadena and Azusa, and it is expected to be completed by 2015. It mostly follows the Foothill (210) Freeway and stops at the edge of Azusa near Citrus College.

The second phase, also with six stops, continues to Montclair, but the environmental impact report is not yet completed and the project is not fully funded. The third and final phase, which would connect to Ontario Airport, is in early planning stages.

Unlike other areas where light-rail projects have been controversial, such as the San Fernando Valley, there has been broad support in the San Gabriel Valley for the line. It’s seen as a way to spur development without more freeway gridlock.

“It’s a way to start developing in a built-out community, like ours, in a smarter way using thing like multifamily or transit-oriented development,” said Sam Pedroza, a Claremont councilman and a member of the extension authority’s board.

So with little controversy surrounding the projects and support from local governments, developers have been gearing up to take advantage of the opportunities.

In Monrovia, Fetter plans to build his project on 12 acres next to the site of the planned stop, which is near the city’s historic downtown. His project is fully funded and is ready to start construction, but breaking ground has been slowed due to some legal entanglements related to the ending of redevelopment. Even so, city officials are excited by his plan.

“We look at it as this is a big step toward reinvigorating the southern part of the town,” said Monrovia interim City Manager Mark Alvarado. “This is going to take a number of years. But people will see projects developed and others will see there are investments (to make) in the area.”

Fetter is so confident it will be a success that he is talking to officials in other cities along the line about other possible projects. “This is our niche,” he said. “We definitely have an interest in other sites.”

In La Verne, Hutton Cos. of Orange is developing a project about a half-mile away from a planned stop after the success the company has had with an 80-acre development in Montclair near that city’s Metrolink station.

“We purchased that 80-acre piece at the end of 2002, so we’ve been advocates and supporters of the Gold Line extension and light rail for over a decade,” said Scott Felix, executive vice president of Hutton.

Hutton mostly built residences on the parcel and it’s been such a success that the city approved another development of 99 apartments and 30 homes called Arrow Station.

In La Verne, the City Council in June approved a Hutton project of 172 high-end apartments and 15,000 square feet of retail. The company plans to begin construction this summer.

“It’s an infill location and an established market that doesn’t have this type of product. In the event you can get the zoning, you have a winner,” Felix said.

In Azusa, Brookfield Homes Inc. has been working on a 1,250-home master-planned community called Rosedale since 2010. Its development partner are Christopher Development Group of Newport Beach and Starwood Capital Group of Greenwich, Conn.

“There’s such a pent-up demand for new housing,” said Carina Hathaway, Brookfield’s vice president of marketing. “Obviously when you can open up a transportation mode that helps any development nearby.”

Seventeen homes were sold in Rosedale two weeks ago alone for a total of more than 200, Hathaway said. The homes are priced between about $300,000 to $700,000. The company has 75 under construction and plans to complete the subdivision by 2018. The project includes a small shopping center and Brookfield is still looking for tenants.

Sitting back

But not every city has attracted the same level of developer interest. For instance, the Irwindale stop is near Miller Brewing Co. and a large industrial neighborhood, but there has yet to be a development proposal. And east of Azusa, where the extension is still being studied, only a few developers have submitted any plans.

Broker Chris Gomez-Ortigoza of Scottsdale, Ariz., brokerage Land Advisors Organization said that he is identifying property along the eastern section of the extension and trying to interest developers in it. He believes solid transit-oriented developments can provide 100 percent returns.

“It’s hard to pin an exact number, but you have to assume you can double your values at least,” said Gomez-Ortigoza, who is working on closing at least two deals and has met with more than a dozen nearby property owners.

There are other challenges as well.

With the dissolution of redevelopment agencies, building along the Gold Line is proving to be more difficult and possibly smaller in scale than anticipated only a few years ago.

“One of the biggest blows to transit-oriented development has been the elimination of redevelopment agencies,” said consultant Aguilar Perez. “It’s not fatal but it’s a blow. The development community saw it as a carrot.”

The agencies were providing either land or subsidies such as for affordable housing components. If that doesn’t sound like a major loss, consider this. In North Hollywood, around the Metro Red and Orange stations, the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency was able to attract $425 million in private investment by offering up land and $28 million of its money. That has led to the construction of more than 319,000 square feet of commercial development and 186 affordable residences. Now, the area, known as the NoHo Arts District, features theaters, hip restaurants, bar and shops.

In the San Gabriel Valley, Fetter is among those who have suffered the most from the loss of redevelopment. His company and a partner had originally planned his Monrovia Station Square project to span 80 acres with 1 million square feet of office and more than 3,600 units, along with a hotel and shops.

But most of the plots of land necessary were being acquired by the redevelopment agency. Now without it, Fetter only has 12 acres to build on.

“It’s a substantial reduction from what was envisioned before,” he said. “Eventually we may create enough value to acquire the land on our own and continue to develop.”

There are other problems. The Gold Line has already been delayed by more than six years as the light-rail line construction authority sought to secure all of its funding and settle litigation. Those delays have created some wariness among developers, who don’t want to invest too early in projects.

But for those developers who are moving forward, such as Hutton, they believe that the north San Gabriel Valley is ripe for development on its own merits.

“We wouldn’t have bet the farm and made several hundred thousands in capital investment in hopes that Gold Line would come if that was the only anchor,” he said. “But to have something like that … was a factor.”

History lessons

There is also an X factor that is to the valley’s notable advantage. It can learn from the cities and areas where the county’s rail network has already been constructed.

Mixed-use developments have been built near the Red Line in Hollywood and the Purple Line along Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. But the Green Line from Redondo Beach to Norwalk and the Blue Line from downtown to Long Beach didn’t see the level of development hoped.

Aguilar Perez said the difference depends on how cities position themselves. The areas where development has been low are areas where cities were too slow or unwilling to accommodate higher-density development.

“They can learn about what worked there and what didn’t and how do you scale and phase the development,” she said.

For now, she believes most San Gabriel Valley cities are doing the right thing. For example, officials in La Verne are in discussions to create a new downtown master plan around the future stop, while Duarte is encouraging its largest employer, the City of Hope cancer center, to partner in building a mixed-use project.

In Monrovia, the city is not only actively working with developers, but pursuing basic infrastructure improvements.

“We are redoing streets and widening sidewalks and making things more pedestrian-friendly,” said interim City Manager Alvarado. “We are looking long term as a family-friendly area for living and shopping and the ability to take the train into L.A.”

FROM the Rose Bowl to the Fairplex, the San Gabriel Valley is home to public venues and projects that create jobs and generate much-needed economic activity for the entire LA region.

With the recent approval of a distinctive final design for a Gold Line bridge over the 210 Freeway, another of these job-generating projects will soon be visible to the public and will provide a new "Gateway to the San Gabriel Valley."

The $18.6 million bridge, which is already under construction and providing jobs, will feature columns designed to resemble American Indian baskets in recognition of the region's original inhabitants and the important role they played in the San Gabriel Valley's development.

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority, the agency responsible for the Gold Line's planning and construction, sponsored an international competition and chose award-winning public artist Andrew Leicester to envision this unique structure to welcome travelers to the San Gabriel Valley.

Caltrans' and the Construction Authority's approval of the final design is a significant milestone in one of the region's largest and most important transit projects - the $735 million extension of the Metro Gold Line light rail line from Pasadena to Azusa. This is the first of two approximately 12-mile extensions that will ultimately connect Los Angeles, the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire along the foothills of the San Gabriel Valley.

The current construction project is expected to generate nearly 7,000 new jobs (2,600 in construction) and $1 billion in economic output for the region during its four-year construction period, according to the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.

Using a design-build approach, the Construction Authority is moving forward faster than would otherwise be possible. Under this approach, for instance, construction of the 210 Gold Line bridge began months ahead of the of the final design's approval.

By using design-build contracting, the Construction Authority is creating jobs when they are most needed and keeping the Measure R-funded rail project on schedule. Approved by two-thirds of Los Angeles County voters in November 2008, Measure R initiated a half-cent sales tax increase to upgrade the region's transportation system including the Foothill Extension projects.

Long before the voters spoke, the Construction Authority had already completed the first segment of the Gold Line from Los Angeles to Pasadena on time and under budget. That 13.7-mile section opened to the public in 2003, and monthly boardings on the Gold Line have continually increased, now reaching nearly 40,000 average weekday boardings.

The Legislature created the Construction Authority in 1998 for one purpose - to extend rail transit along the foothills. As leaders of the Construction Authority, we have been single-minded in our pursuit of that goal.

Working together with our elected leaders, state and federal officials, local communities and residents throughout the region, we have continued to move the project forward this year with the final 210 Freeway bridge design approval and the launch of construction.

As we near the end of 2011, we are on track to complete the light rail extension to Azusa in 2015, and are focused on readying the next 12-mile segment for construction - easing traffic woes and helping to ensure a healthier and more prosperous future for all who live, work and visit Los Angeles County.

Doug Tessitor is the Construction Authority board chairman and the mayor of Glendora.

Metro Crime Stats: Gold Line is Among System’s Safest Trains
The unprecedented Metro report is in response to the recent murder on the Red Line.
By David Fonseca
   
In response to a fatal stabbing that occurred on a Metro Red Line train in August, the transit authority for the first time ever has released detailed crime statistics for its trains and buses.

A post published today on The Source blog shows that, despite the first murder in the system's 17-year history, "the number of the most serious crimes has gone down and the number of arrests and citations has gone up."

Click here to see The Source's full blog post.

The Gold Line, which runs from Pasadena to East Los Angeles through Northeast L.A., and which many Eagle Rock residents use to commute, appears to be one of Metro's safest lines.

From January through August 2011, 4.4 so-called "Part One" crimes (murder, rape, assault, robbery) per million riders were reported on the Gold Line. That's significantly lower than the 21.1 and 11.0 per million reported on Green and Blue Lines respectively.

Those numbers are slightly higher than the Red and Orange Lines, which reported 3.7 and 4.4 million Part One crimes per million riders respectively.

According to Metro's statistics, a total of three Part One crimes were reported on the Gold Line in August—among them a non-fatal stabbing incident that left a Monrovia man hospitalized.

The Source's blog post indicates that many of the crimes that occur in the Metro system, which is policed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, are thefts of valuables such as cell phones and jewelry.

Riders are urged not to wear—or at least not to display—valuable jewelry on the Metro system, and to be careful while talking on cellphones when near or aboard trains.

Here is a link to Metro’s crime statistic data.
 

THE excellent news for transit progress in the San Gabriel Valley came through late Friday: The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Authority and the city of Monrovia had settled a key part of their dispute over the fractious matter of putting together a large parcel of land for a rail yard in the city.

The need to create the operations and maintenance yard had been the last major impediment in the way of getting the east-Pasadena-to- Azusa extension from getting started. Several area cities turned down the entreaties of Metro and the Gold Line. So when Monrovia officials came forward with the plan to use the large parcel in an industrial part of the city south of the Foothill (210) Freeway, it was very welcome news.

The deal was always going to be complex, with the big city block in question involving as it does a hodgepodge of publicly owned land and properties owned by a variety of private parties. Area transportation needs aside, obviously everyone would be jockeying for the best financial deal possible for themselves. Sometimes - very, very rarely, in our view - it is necessary for a government entity to declare the need for eminent domain and take property at fair market value in the interest of the greater public good. But one of those landowners, unbeknownst to the Gold Line, had apparently cut a deal with the city of Monrovia seven years ago declaring that no eminent domain proceedings ever be used against it.

Those issues still aren't cleared up. But the agreement reached between the light-rail authority and Monrovia means that 13.8 of the proposed total of 24 acres will be locked down, so that funding from Metro will be released allowing the project to get underway.

The deal still needs formal approval from the Gold Line board of directors, which should occur this week, and from the Monrovia City Council, which for some reason is delaying its decision until September. But we trust the squabbling council can get its act together, stop finger-pointing at a public transit authority that, after all, is negotiating in calm good faith after having been ambushed with the unwelcome eminent domain surprise - and sign off on the agreement its city staff has reached.

Other difficulties await, including the future negotiations with the major landowner in the parcel, whose attorney has created a novel legal strategy claiming that the Gold Line's board members can't serve because they are also elected officials from area cities. While that odd argument won't prevail in the courts, the legal shenanigans will add to the delays for the people of the San Gabriel Valley and our ability to get around without cars.

But we'll take the latest good news as just that - one more foot of track laid in the right direction toward the ultimate goal of a light-rail line from downtown Los Angeles all the way east to Claremont and then the Ontario Airport.

Last week, the Gold Line Construction Authority received bids from three prominent design-build engineering teams for the $440 million job. With its happily accelerated timetable, coming from Measure R county sales-tax funding and the plan to condense what would have been 30 years of transit work into a single decade, the plan is to see trains rolling through the central San Gabriel Valley by 2014.

As we reported recently, ridership on the existing Gold Line from east Pasadena into downtown Los Angeles and beyond on the new East Los Angeles extension has hit new highs and continues to increase. Metro, which operates the system, says it will begin later this month to run trains every six minutes in both directions, rather than the current 10 minutes, adding significantly to commuter efficiency and that all-important sense that, hey, this sure beats freeway driving.
But amid all the good news is a potential impasse over the acquisition of land in Monrovia for a needed maintenance yard that could literally derail the entire Gold Line extension.

After other foothill cities declined to come forward to put together parcels of land for the maintenance yard, without which the full Gold Line cannot be built - including cities such as Irwindale with huge parcels of vacant land - the offer by Monrovia to do so was most welcome. The real estate transaction required was always going to be complicated, with the entire 12-acre light-industrial area in the city's far southeast below the 210 Freeway being owned by various private parties, the Monrovia Redevelopment Agency and the city itself. But hosting the maintenance yard is not necessarily all burden to the city. It's an excellent investment in not just the region's but the city's economic future. It will provide jobs, some of them presumably local. People who work there will need to eat and to shop. And the fact is that getting the Gold Line completed in a timely matter is more important to Monrovia than to any other foothill city because of its huge Station Square mixed-use development to which the presence of the light-rail line is key.

But now the Gold Line and the Monrovia City Council are in a massive spat over how to pay for some unexpected costs coming out of an unfortunate suit by one of the private landowners involved in the deal. That landowner is suddenly asking for far more money from the sale than previously. It's all bad news, but so is the upshot from it. The consequent delay is endangering the entire project and transit progress for the region. So is the City Council's and City Hall's grandstanding on the issue about not altering previous agreements to pay $56 million for the city-owned property "by one penny" and apparent refusal to share with the Gold Line the newly increased costs for the entire parcel. But the city apparently had not disclosed a 2004 covenant with the problem property owner allegedly prohibiting the transaction, and yet is acting "shocked, shocked" that there's an impediment to a final deal.

Should other area cities come forward with some cash for the deal, as we all benefit from the Gold Line? That would be fine, if unlikely. Seeking another site for the yard, as some on the Monrovia council desire, would add years of delay pending new environmental reports.

Monrovia has to cowboy up here. At its June 21 City Council meeting, it needs to own up to its responsibilities and pay its fair share of the land acquisition. The city has been an aggressive developer itself in recent decades, including the frequent use of eminent domain to shore up its employment base. So if, as would be likely if the city won't cooperate, the Gold Line Construction Authority begins to explore the use of eminent domain in this deal for the common good, why should the city be surprised?

 

June 10, 2011

Steve Scauzillo
Opinions Editor
San Gabriel Valley Tribune

Subject:  Op-Ed

Dear Mr. Scauzillo,

In 2010 the Construction Authority learned it was required to build a maintenance and operations facility to complete the Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa as a requirement of the Funding Agreement between the Authority and Metro.

Since then the Authority proceeded to environmentally review the facility alternatives. In January 2011, the Authority Board certified the final environmental document and selected a 24-acre site in the City of Monrovia for the facility. This decision was supported by the City. We then began negotiating to purchase the land within the selected site, including 14 acres owned by the City of Monrovia and its Redevelopment Agency and 10 more owned by multiple private property owners.

By March 2011, the Authority and City had come close to agreeing on a $56 million deal for the city-owned properties, based entirely on, of course, the City's ability to sell its land free and clear without litigation or other encumbrance. In fact, the draft Purchase and Sale Agreement stated there was no threatened litigation. It was not until March 22, 2011 that the Authority was made aware of a 2004 covenant between the City of Monrovia and an adjacent property owner allegedly prohibiting the transaction between the City and the Authority, and that the City would not be able to sell its land without embroiling the Authority in very costly and schedule-threatening litigation. This property owner has since filed 2 lawsuits, one challenging CEQA and the other against the City of Monrovia contesting the sale and purchase of the City's properties.

These facts materially change the Authority's ability to pay $56 million as part of a deal for the City's properties and pose a significant risk to the viability of the entire project. The Authority very much believes that the City should be involved in resolving this situation.

Given the new conditions, the Authority is seeking the City's partnership in sharing some of the costs to settle with the private property owner and resolve the City's lawsuit regarding its 2004 covenant with the same property owner.  At this point, however, it does not appear that the City considers that it has any responsibility in the litigation or the cloud over its property.

The Authority's options are clear: we can give into the demands of a few property owners and possibly bankrupt, shorten and/or significantly delay the project; or we can take every step reasonably necessary to complete the project to Azusa on time and within budget while preserving resources to extend light rail to the county line.

Doug Tessitor
Board Chairman
Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority

 

With gas prices rising, commuters now more than ever need an alternative besides the single-occupancy automobile ride to get to and from work and school.

If there was a silver lining to the higher pump prices, which on Monday reached $4.17 per gallon on average in Southern California, it's that the bus, train or light rail are fast becoming more cost-effective options.

Getting commuters out of their cars is not easily accomplished in the car capital of the world, not even here in the San Gabriel Valley or southeast Los Angeles County. It's not because of selfishness, as some would argue - it's because of inconvenience. For many commuters, taking a bus or train would add a lot of time, sometimes even hours, to their daily commute, except on the worst of traffic days. So drivers make that daily bet. The key to easing gridlock, cutting air pollution and giving commuters "found time" instead of stress time on their odyssey to and from work and school is an affordable and convenient mass transit alternative. The sheer size of this megalopolis makes that task much harder than in relatively compact Boston or New York City, Seattle or Portland.

That's why we've supported and continue to urge lawmakers and mass transit agencies to extend more light-rail lines and stations closer to the region's bedroom communities. That's what Metro and the Metro Gold Line Extension Construction Authority are doing, though it can never be fast enough.

The factor currently slowing down, for example, the extension of the Gold Line from east Pasadena to Azusa is the acquisition of 24 acres in Monrovia for a Gold Line maintenance and operations yard. After negotiating the best deal, Monrovia should finalize the sale of its 14-acre portion this month to the authority. Half the site needs to be acquired before the Gold Line can fully move ahead with the extension, which will include stations in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa. San Gabriel Valley cities and agencies should lend their support to Monrovia, which has stepped up to help make this happen. Metro needs an additional maintenance and operations yard within the new service area. And the facility will create jobs.

When people ask "why does the extension take so long?," this is one of the answers. Another property owner has sued the authority for trying to acquire the rest of the land, possibly through eminent domain. While negotiations will be tough, we urge the authority to negotiate for the necessary land and provide a fair price. It would be wrong for hassles over one or two small deals to delay the completion of the 11.3-mile Gold Line Foothill extension, now scheduled for 2014.

Is the Foothill Extension of the Gold Line the answer for every commuter? Nothing is right for everyone. It is just one of a number of new projects in the region - including the Expo Line from south Los Angeles to Culver City, set to open this fall - that will give commuters a second or third choice while leaving their cars in the driveway, away from the gas pump.
 

Previously, payments were scheduled to be spread out in fixed amounts over a nine-year period (between 2010 and 2019), and the Authority planned to fund upfront costs with a design-build-finance contract.

But according to Authority officials, senior staff at Metro recently informed them that the bonds would provide adequate funding for the Foothill Extension Phase 2A project as soon as the project requires them.

The Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority's Board of Directors updated its financial plan last week to reflect the changes.

Habib F. Balian, CEO of the Authority, said last week in a statement that this change "is significant, as it means that we will not need to finance the project through our design-builder, likely saving the project tens of millions of dollars and allowing the project to proceed in the most efficient way possible."

Proposals are due in January for the $450+ million design-build contract to complete the 11.5-mile Phase 2A alignment work (consisting of the track, stations, crossings, bridges, utilities, and more).

The project's first design-build contract was awarded in June 2010 to Skanska USA. The $18.5 million contract is to complete design and construction for the 584-linear foot bridge over the eastbound lanes of the I-210 Freeway near Santa Anita Avenue. Final design work is under way, and construction is anticipated to begin in the spring.
 

AFTER serving as city manager of Pasadena for 10 years, I have the great privilege of now serving as CEO of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership. The Partnership has nearly 160 members including 21 cities. Business working with government? Aren't they supposed to be in perpetual war?

Actually, local government needs strong businesses just as businesses need effective local governments. In fact, it is nearly impossible for the one to be successful without the other.

Since I began working for the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership, I have learned a lot about the Valley, including how to drive from Pasadena to Claremont without using either the I-10 or the I-210, which can be invaluable at certain times of the day! But also about the diverse economic base in our Valley and what is happening within the major sectors during this recession.

This column is not going to dwell on doom and gloom projections. Our local economy does face challenges, of course, that must be addressed. However, equally important is to recognize the Valley's considerable strengths and resources, the positive forces that are at play and how we can leverage them to help people get back to work.

Recently, the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp. released a report that included a perspective on the positive economic forces for the L.A. County economy through 2011. Many of the sectors they noted happen to be San Gabriel Valley strengths:

Health Care Services - The Valley has some of the best hospitals in California, if not the nation, such as Huntington, Methodist, City of Hope and Citrus to name just a few. Hospitals are economic engines. Other medical services cluster around good hospitals. Even as we struggle with controlling health care costs, the demand for health care services will continue to grow. Many hospitals are moving forward with renovation and expansion plans providing valuable construction jobs. The health care sector will continue to produce jobs.

Higher Education - The SGV contains outstanding public and private colleges and universities bounded by Caltech on the west and the Claremont Colleges on the east while the University of La Verne and Cal Poly Pomona serve the heart of the Valley and beyond. Then with outstanding community colleges like Pasadena City College, Mt. SAC, Rio Hondo and Citrus College, the Valley can boast of excellent educational and economic generators.

Certainly these institutions must weather the current economic time, and they will. Their importance to our local economy cannot be emphasized enough.

Major Construction Projects - While it is taking more time then many predicted, the federal government's infrastructure program and the Measure R funding from the county's new half-cent sales tax is expected to provide a boom to this sector.

Groundbreaking of the Foothill Gold Line extension and the Alameda Corridor East grade separation projects are welcomed boosts to the construction sector. Majestic's proposed NFL stadium and adjacent retail and office development will be tremendous long-term job generators. And there are others like the proposed $170 million Rose Bowl renovation project and the Fairplex Conference Center which broke ground recently that will add to the Valley's economic recovery.

International Trade - Trade through our local ports is beginning to rise again. More than 40 percent of the nation's imported containers come through the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Total container traffic through these ports is projected to increase by 14 percent this year. This is great news, especially for the San Gabriel Valley. With the I-210, I-10, I-60 and ACE all serving as the critical routes between the ports and the rest of the nation, the Valley continues to provide some of the best opportunities for companies interested in international trade. If your company is interested in exploring international trade opportunities, contact our offices at 626-856-3400 for information on free training available from the Port of Los Angeles.

Cynthia Kurtz is president and CEO of the San Gabriel Valley Economic Partnership in Irwindale.
 

Imagine a San Gabriel Valley crisscrossed by fast, efficient mass transit, with light rail lines traversing the north and south of the Valley and interconnected by rapid bus links, creating a grid that connects our residents, industrial and educational centers with the rest of the Los Angeles Basin through a high-capacity, pollution-free system.

It's not that hard to imagine, because we are actually halfway there. Construction has finally begun on the second phase of the Gold Line Foothill Extension, with the line being extended east from east Pasadena along the northern foothills. By 2013, this line will run to the edge of the Valley at the Azusa/Glendora border. Metro, along with local transit agencies including Foothill Transit and Montebello Bus Lines, already provide excellent bus service throughout the Valley, and to points beyond.

Now, the last component to giving our residents a truly complete, regional mass transit system is within our grasp. For the past year, Metro has been examining two alternatives to extending the Gold Line Eastside Extension past its current terminus at Atlantic and Pomona boulevards in East Los Angeles.

The only option that makes economic, regional and common sense is the one extending the line along the Pomona (60) Freeway through the southern San Gabriel Valley.

According to previous estimates, the SR-60 alternative is significantly lower in cost than the second option, along Washington Boulevard toward Whittier. The state of California already owns the right of way along the 60 Freeway, while building the line along Washington Boulevard would in all likelihood require purchasing many private properties, including homes and businesses, through eminent domain.

The lack of a need for eminent domain along the SR-60 Route is the reason Montebello, the city that would be most negatively impacted by the Washington Boulevard option, has joined a diverse and united coalition of cities in the southern San Gabriel Valley that support the 60 Freeway alignment. In fact, every city along the proposed line - Montebello, Monterey Park, Rosemead and South El Monte - is on board with the project. And what's more impressive is that cities not directly on the line, including El Monte and Industry, have joined this coalition, helping to ensure we will be well positioned in the future to fight for resources and make further regional transportation connections.

But cities are not the only members of the SR-60 Coalition. Looking forward to two east-west rail lines traversing the Valley, agencies such as Foothill Transit and Montebello Bus Lines have already committed to expanding and improving north-west service connecting the two Gold Lines. This would complete the grid, providing frequent, rapid bus service between rail stations on the north and south ends of the valley while connecting to key destinations in between, from Metro's El Monte Transit Station to our various state and community colleges including Cal Poly Pomona, East Los Angeles, Rio Hondo and Mt. SAC. Just like our Foothill Extension, the Eastside Extension could become a second "Brain Train" through the San Gabriel Valley.

But it doesn't end there. Unlike the Washington Boulevard alternative's planned terminus in Whittier, the SR-60 route is ripe for further expansion to current and future destinations, including the planned world-class football stadium in Industry, Industry's Metrolink station - one of the region's busiest - and further links east to the Ontario Airport and the fast-growing Inland Empire. Providing a light-rail link to the Los Angeles Stadium alone will preempt the huge influx of visitors that will flood to our region once professional football returns to Los Angeles, and influx that would otherwise further clog our already jam-packed freeways.

And that is where the true benefits of such a comprehensive system lie. Even before a stadium is built, imagine the impact of taking thousands of vehicles daily off of two of the three major highways that traverse the Valley from east to west. Imagine the benefits in terms of time saved, increased productivity and economic development, reduced pollution and improved quality of life.

For all these reasons, I have joined the SR-60 Coalition, along with scores of other local elected officials including state Assembly members Mike Eng and Ed Hernandez. Considering that Measure R only allocates $1.2 billion to the Eastside Extension Phase II, a figure below the total cost for either alternative, we need a unified coalition of state, federal and local officials to leverage the resources necessary to get the job done. And the only route that has that type of unanimous and dedicated support is the SR-60 alternative.

So I ask the residents of the San Gabriel Valley and our local leaders to join us and imagine what the future can hold as we move forward toward a truly comprehensive mass transit system that will serve as a model for our region and our state. Together, we can turn this dream into a reality.

Rep. Judy Chu, D-Monterey Park, is a member of Congress from California's 32nd District.
 

Under a public-private partnership, the winning contractor will design, build and finance the project. The capital costs would be repaid through funds from Measure R, the half-cent county sales tax voters approved in November 2008 to fund transportation infrastructure improvements.

Phase 2A includes light rail alignment work, including on 11.5 miles of track; utilities; crossings and systems; six stations; several bridges; and a 25-acre maintenance facility that will service about 80 to 100 vehicles.

The Foothill extension, the first project to break ground under Measure R, is also spearheading a trend toward public-private partnerships in California.

The idea is to front-load the costs and build sooner in order to save money, officials said.

Measure R guarantees full funding for the Gold Line extension - minus a "gap" of $500,000 - but was scheduled for a completion date of 2017. With help from private investment, however, completion can be moved up to 2013, officials say.

"We knew we would get the Measure R funds on a funding stream over a nine-year period," said Habib Balian, CEO of the Construction Authority, "and we knew we could construct it in four."

Meanwhile, Balian said, the economy was slowing down, and Metro was seeing less revenue than the agency had anticipated.

"We looked at the spending curve if we built it in the most efficient way possible," said Balian.

After running the numbers, he said, the Construction Authority asked "what would happen if we financed that gap," realized it was feasible and that a public-private partnership would be "a wise way to proceed," he said.

Even compared with the interest Metro will have to pay back, the savings are dramatic. Advancing the project by three years, Balian said, will save around $80 million.

"This may cost $30 million or $50 million to finance, (but) it may cost $80 million or $100 million if we built it more slowly," he said, adding that a savings of around 4 million car rides each year is "probably more valuable than the money."

Bob Schraeder, business development manager for Shimmick Construction Inc., a short-listed company in the bidding that has previously worked with Metro on the Orange Line and Eastside Extension, said the design-build-finance concept is a new one for the United States.

"We refer to it as `gap funding.' It has not really been done before in the States," he said, adding that Shimmick's finance partner, Bank of America/Merryl Lynch, has experience in similar ventures.

Mike Aparicio, vice president of transit and operations in Los Angeles for Skanska, another short-listed company that won the first contract in Phase 2A for an $18-million bridge project, said "there are many potential public-private projects throughout California being talked about - but the Foothill Extension is one of the first that has matured to procurement."

Both Aparicio and Schraeder said they see a trend toward public-private partnerships gaining momentum in California and beyond.

"We think that in California public agencies look like they are embracing public-private partnerships as a viable alternative for delivery," said Aparicio.

Progressive owners, said Schrader, "are seeing how they can get the work built sooner, take advantage of the fact that construction costs have come down and contractors are hungry, and make up funding shortfalls."

Balian noted the bridge project awarded to Skanska came in well under the Construction Authority's estimate of $24 million.

The hope, said Schrader, is that the Gold Line project can be "a model for other heavy civil construction jobs that have gap funding."

Construction on of the extension to Azusa will be completed in 2014; to Montclair in 2019; and Ontario in 2021. Balian called it "lightening speed" for a project of its size.

Proposals are due Jan. 27, 2011, and the Construction Authority says it anticipates an award in April 2011.

beige.luciano-adams@sgvn.com

626-578-6300, ext. 4444

A lot has been happening on this project, even though you don’t see anything right now. In October, Metro adopted their Long Range Transportation Plan which included funding for Phase 2A of the Gold Line extension. Phase I was from downtown L.A. to Pasadena; Phase 2A is from Pasadena to Azusa; Phase 2B is from Azusa to the transit center in Upland; and eventually Phase 3 will run from the transit center to Ontario Airport.

In March the Metro board approved the Funding Transfer and Master Cooperative Agreements. This essentially assured over $800 million toward the project between 2010 and 2019.

Here is a project that has gained my attention for a few reasons. I’ve always loved trains, and it is quite enjoyable to take the Gold Line to the beautiful and historic Union Station in downtown L.A. (From there it is a short walk to Phillipe’s, home of the original French dip sandwich!). But this project has a bit of sentimentality to it. The Gold Line runs along the old Santa Fe right of way. I remember when the Super Chief would pull into the Pasadena station. The Santa Fe rail line was completed in 1887 line and ran from Los Angeles to San Bernardino. Much of the development along the Foothills can be traced to the development of rail stations along the way. The pictures above are of the San Dimas and Monrovia stations today. Hopefully the Monrovia station will be lovingly restored like the San Dimas station. I’m so glad that Pasadena preserved their old station.

Look for transit oriented development to occur near each of the Gold Line stations. Phase 2A will have stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, two in Irwindale, and two in Azusa.
 

With local transit authorities preparing to go forward with the Gold Line Foothill Extension to the Azusa/Glendora border, local cities still have plans to place residential and commercial developments along the line.

The intent of those developments is to prepare for future population growth while limiting increases in local traffic. The first phase of the extension is slated to be completed by 2014, adding new stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa.

But with a down economy, flat real estate market, and cities suffering from last month's state raid of local redevelopment funds, some plans for transit-oriented developments could end up being scaled back.

"You have a lot of hurdles with these developments that weren't there before," said Jack Kyser, the chief economist of the Los Angles County Economic Development Corp. "It's hard to get financing, the retail market is down, and then you have the problems with the state affecting local redevelopment."

A survey of several local cities shows that while some are on schedule, other projects have stalled or have been scaled back.

In Azusa, the largest planned residential development already stalled long before the city lost redevelopment funds to the state. The Rosedale housing development was planned to have 1,250 units but was put on hold in the fall of 2008 because of the national economic crisis. Only 130 units were finished.

But other developments in the area are also at risk, said Fran Delach, Azusa's city manager. A nearby retail project meant to accompany the housing project was relying on purchasing city-owned land at a low price to go forward, Delach said.

Since Azusa had to pay almost $13million to the state from its redevelopment fund, the city can no longer afford to part with the land at below-market prices, Delach said.

"It really takes away from our ability to use redevelopment as an economic catalyst for our city," Delach said.

In nearby Monrovia, the city is also struggling with issues stemming from the redevelopment seizure. Unlike the vast majority of cities in the state, Monrovia officials refused to pay the state the redevelopment money it demanded.

The city saved $3 million but it's now effectively barred from future redevelopment deals.

Fortunately for Monrovia, that will not affect the currently-planned Station Square project, a huge 55-acre mixed commercial and residential project that will accompany the Monrovia Gold Line station near the intersection of West Duarte Road and South Myrtle Avenue.

Because the project already has been cleared and the developers have title to the land, it does not require further assistance from Monrovia's redevelopment agency, said City Manager Scott Ochoa.

However, real estate market conditions could affect the size of the project, he added.

While project developers have been cleared to eventually add up to 3,500 residential units, they may well chose to scale back if the units won't sell, he said.
The city also will be looking to aid other future developers in the area through land sales, Ochoa said.

In Arcadia, officials are looking to build commercial developments centered around a planned station just east of Santa Anita Avenue, said City Manager Don Penman.
Arcadia's challenge will be land acquisition, Penman added.

Because Arcadia has ordinances limiting the use of eminent domain, officials there have to rely on negotiating land deals, a difficult process with limited redevelopment funds.

"We don't have that leverage that we could use to negotiate," said Penman. "It's going to hurt us and we are not going to be able to be as aggressive as we could be."
Cities further east will have longer to develop their plans since the next extension of Gold Line won't be completed until 2017, and does not yet have a committed source of funds to ensure it will even get done by then.

Glendora, the first city on the line to get a station, already has plans for grouping housing and retail developments around that station.

But even there, city officials had hoped to get projects off the ground early. Currently, the city's main planned project on the Gold Line, a mixed retail and residential proposal at the intersection of Ada and Glendora avenues, is not going forward.
That is partly because of the real estate market, and partly because the developers were expecting infrastructure upgrades in the area that the city can no longer commit to completing, said Glendora City Manager Chris Jeffers.

He said he does not know when it might get going.

"I think it will be stalled for an indefinite period of time," Jeffers said.

Julianna Delgado, a professor of urban design at Cal Poly Pomona who sits on several Pasadena commissions, said she anticipates that ultimately, cities like the ones along the Gold Line who are trying to complete transit-oriented developments will be glad they did.

"Based on that legislation transit-oriented developments make a lot of sense," Delgado said. "The cities trying to do it now are pretty much ahead of the game."

This past month, millions of our county's residents participated in the Census. This crucial form provides equitable federal funds to local government supporting a variety of programs from public safety to education to transportation. These monies are locked into local government, committing them to projects they can or cannot fund until the next Census in 2020.

Likewise, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority is at a pivotal moment that could lock up all of its resources for the next 10 years with the proposed 30/10 transit plan.

The selling point of 30/10 is the acceleration of the construction of 12 Measure R transit projects from 30 years to 10 years. While it sounds great on paper, 30/10 is inherently flawed and neglects large regions of the county.

When Measure R passed last November, it promised voters a healthy mix of transit and road projects. But 30/10 neglects to include any highway projects. This circumvents the mobility promises made to the gateway cities - the San Gabriel, Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys - and the Glendale/Burbank subregion, which have most or all of their Measure R dollars allotted for highway projects.

The county Economic Development Corp. last week released a report stating that 67 percent of the jobs, economic output and earnings generated by Measure R come from highway projects, with the remaining 33 percent from transit projects. Without incorporating highway projects, the 30/10 plan will leave behind 341,500 jobs, $46.3 billion in economic output and $15.1 billion in earnings. We cannot afford to leave the benefits of highways out of 30/10.

Our county's San Fernando, Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys, under 30/10, would continue to receive the short end of the stick from the city of Los Angeles and the MTA.

The San Fernando Valley, for example, which represents one-fifth of the county's population and 40 percent of the city of Los Angeles, is slated to receive a paltry 13 percent of the city's Measure R dollars and benefit little from the transit plan. The Orange Line Extension, which is under construction, will finish construction and be up and running well before 2020 regardless of 30/10.

In the northern county areas, the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys will grow from 7 percent to 11 percent of the county's population by 2030, but will only receive 5 percent of Measure R funds and no 30/10 projects.

Furthermore, 30/10, as it is written, includes no firewalls or caps on the projects. Only two of the 12 Measure R transit projects - the Gold Line Extension and Orange Line Extension - have their environmental work done, thus any cost estimates for projects like the Wilshire subway extension are not reliable. If project cost estimates go up because of either poor project management or completed environmental review results, would 30/10 cannibalize itself by taking funds from one project to another or use new federal, state or unclaimed local tax dollars to backfill project budgets?

Specific language is required to ensure each of the transit projects are built within their budgets without comprising funds to be utilized by the MTA to provide its mobility duties.

Lastly, accelerating construction for 30/10 transit projects without identifying new revenue sources to operate is a recipe for disaster.
With transit operation funds from the state drying up and federal assistance negligible, the 30/10 plan will require the MTA board to de-fund bus operations, raise fares or propose a new local sales tax to fund the new rail commitments on an accelerated schedule.

Prior to endorsing the 30/10 plan these issues must be vetted at the MTA, and I look forward to working with the board of directors to ensure the plan is regional, balanced, equitable and supported by the entire county.

Michael D. Antonovich represents District 5, which includes Santa Clarita Valley, on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. His column reflects his own views and not necessarily those of The Signal.
 

But we're not sure everyone fully grasps the importance of this mass transit line's growth on our economy and our communities. There will be more than just a train reaching the last station of Phase 2a near Citrus Avenue come early 2014.

First, there's the economics. This phase will generate 7,000 jobs, $1 billion in business revenues and $40 billion in tax revenues. The ticker on those numbers can start now, as the Construction Authority ramps up for the letting of contracts to extend the line, including a bridge over the 210 Freeway and a grade separation at Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia, the latter approved by that city's voters in a special assessment. Those numbers, generated by the independent Los Angeles Economic Development Corp., are estimates for the first three years of construction.

Second, there's the reduction in traffic on the always congested 210 Freeway. While this line alone won't solve freeway gridlock, it will be a link in the chain of new mass transit and carpool projects that will work toward that goal.

Lastly, local cities will realize new growth - condos, apartments, retail, offices - along the light-rail corridor. Already, many cities are planning projects that incorporate a car-less ride into Old Pasadena and Los Angeles from within walking distance of homes and businesses.

More than a commuter route, cities must find ways to use the line as a magnet for attracting new shoppers. That issue came up at a recent Arcadia City Council forum and many candidates did not have a good answer for how to accomplish that. Arcadia could provide a shuttle service on weekends from the First Avenue train stop to popular destinations, such as the Arboretum, Santa Anita Park or even the mall and Caruso's proposed Shops at Santa Anita.

Likewise, deans at Citrus College and Azusa Pacific University should find ways to incorporate the train into recruiting. Perhaps with the help of local cities and the MTA, these colleges can offer free MTA passes to students. Having to build fewer parking lots could really help these two fine institutions grow more efficiently.

Imagine expanding much-needed nursing programs with the money saved by building fewer parking lots.

Yes, it is a paradigm shift for bedroom cities to switch their thinking from cars, freeways and parking lots to light rail, one that eventually may reach Montclair and even the Ontario International Airport.

That's the kind of forward thinking that needs to happen to make the Gold Line a success once it is built. Metro Chairman Ara Najarian said the funding of the Gold Line was about regional cooperation, part of what he called "a recipe for success." That formula needs to continue in a new way, starting now.
 

The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority board's unanimous vote on Thursday allows construction of the Gold Line extension to begin in June.

It will be the first new rail project funded by Measure R, the transportation sales tax approved by county voters in 2008.

The line, which currently ends in Pasadena, will include stops in the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale and Azusa.