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MAYOR ANTONIO R. VILLARAIGOSA
City of Los Angeles
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 23, 2009
CONTACT:
Rachel Kruer
(213) 978-0741
MAYOR SECURES UNANIMOUS VOTE FOR LONG RANGE TRANSPORTATION PLAN
MTA Sets Course for Sustainable Transportation Network
LOS ANGELES - Taking a major step toward building the Westside Subway and all the Measure R projects, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today cleared the way for jobs, sustainability, and mobility by unanimously supporting the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The plan set the course for approximately $300 billion in investment over the next 30 years.
"Today we built consensus on our regional transportation roadmap,” said Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. “This plan represents our shared vision, and we are ready to get these projects rolling."
In the plan, the Westside Subway and downtown Regional Connector were affirmed as the priorities for federal funding through the “New Starts” program. Both of these projects will serve dense employment centers and will greatly improve the connections that will make rail travel possible and faster for hundreds of thousands of people from all over the region.
The plan includes transit and highway projects, including the Regional Connector, the Foothill Extension of the Gold Line in the San Gabriel Valley, the Crenshaw Line, and the Westside Extension of the Subway. The projects will dramatically increase the reach of the rail network in the County, reducing emissions and traffic congestion.
The LRTP includes allocation of funds generated by the passage of Measure R, the 2008 half-cent sales tax for LA County as well as federal stimulus dollars coming to the County under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
In total, the LRTP includes $298 billion countywide over the next 30 years from all local, state, and federal transportation funding sources.
“The 12 Measure R transit projects will create much needed jobs, improve our environment and get people where they are going faster. Now it’s time to work together to make a plan to accelerate the funding from Measure R to get all the projects built faster,” added Mayor Villaraigosa.
The MTA will forward the LRTP to the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) for inclusion in SCAG’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP). Inclusion in the SCAG plan is a requirement for a project to receive federal funding.