soleri
03-08-2007, 04:54 PM
Originally published Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Updated Monday, March 05, 2007
DailyBreeze.com
New public agency is ticket to LAX rail line
Torrance Assemblyman Ted Lieu has introduced state legislation to do something that should have been done years ago: link Los Angeles International Airport to the regional mass-transit system.
Lieu's legislation, Assembly Bill 889, would create a new public agency to oversee the design and construction contracts to complete a new leg of the Metro Green Line from the rail station at Aviation Boulevard northward to LAX. The agency, dubbed the Metro Green Line Construction Authority, would be charged with overseeing a 2-mile-long rail segment that would include stations at the intersections of Aviation and Century boulevards and Lincoln and Sepulveda boulevards.
This new Green Line spur, however, would not reach the airport's central terminals but would connect with a planned airport people mover that would quickly shuttle passengers to their terminals.
The proposed agency would be modeled after the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, the agency that is overseeing the Exposition light rail line project that should eventually connect Culver City and Santa Monica with downtown Los Angeles.
Though the prime task of the new agency would be to link LAX with the Green Line, it could lay the groundwork to build the Green Line as originally intended in the 1990s. Under that scenario, its reach would extend from Marina del Rey in the north to the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach.
It is disappointing that the only way to jump-start such an obviously beneficial project may be to create a new government agency, complete with an executive director and staff. But it may not be realistic to rely solely on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, whose outlook is regionwide, to get the job done. A new agency working with the MTA on funding, design and engineering would give the Green Line project the clout it requires.
We're also encouraged that the alliance of public officials supporting the Green Line extension includes Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, South Bay Rep. Jane Harman, State Sen. Jenny Oropeza and Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe. Having all levels of government on board means that multiple funding sources could be tapped to make the project a reality.
The timing is also ripe because the state is poised to devote an unprecedented level of bond funding toward infrastructure projects. Considering how an extended Green Line would cut airport road congestion and air pollution, this is a project that should have a high priority.
Lieu's legislation deserves a fair hearing in the Legislature this year. To wait any longer would be unconscionable considering how long people have talked about the value of a Green Line extension while nothing gets done.
Updated Monday, March 05, 2007
DailyBreeze.com
New public agency is ticket to LAX rail line
Torrance Assemblyman Ted Lieu has introduced state legislation to do something that should have been done years ago: link Los Angeles International Airport to the regional mass-transit system.
Lieu's legislation, Assembly Bill 889, would create a new public agency to oversee the design and construction contracts to complete a new leg of the Metro Green Line from the rail station at Aviation Boulevard northward to LAX. The agency, dubbed the Metro Green Line Construction Authority, would be charged with overseeing a 2-mile-long rail segment that would include stations at the intersections of Aviation and Century boulevards and Lincoln and Sepulveda boulevards.
This new Green Line spur, however, would not reach the airport's central terminals but would connect with a planned airport people mover that would quickly shuttle passengers to their terminals.
The proposed agency would be modeled after the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority, the agency that is overseeing the Exposition light rail line project that should eventually connect Culver City and Santa Monica with downtown Los Angeles.
Though the prime task of the new agency would be to link LAX with the Green Line, it could lay the groundwork to build the Green Line as originally intended in the 1990s. Under that scenario, its reach would extend from Marina del Rey in the north to the South Bay Galleria in Redondo Beach.
It is disappointing that the only way to jump-start such an obviously beneficial project may be to create a new government agency, complete with an executive director and staff. But it may not be realistic to rely solely on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, whose outlook is regionwide, to get the job done. A new agency working with the MTA on funding, design and engineering would give the Green Line project the clout it requires.
We're also encouraged that the alliance of public officials supporting the Green Line extension includes Los Angeles City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, South Bay Rep. Jane Harman, State Sen. Jenny Oropeza and Fourth District Supervisor Don Knabe. Having all levels of government on board means that multiple funding sources could be tapped to make the project a reality.
The timing is also ripe because the state is poised to devote an unprecedented level of bond funding toward infrastructure projects. Considering how an extended Green Line would cut airport road congestion and air pollution, this is a project that should have a high priority.
Lieu's legislation deserves a fair hearing in the Legislature this year. To wait any longer would be unconscionable considering how long people have talked about the value of a Green Line extension while nothing gets done.
