Quote:
Originally Posted by numble
They do put a footnote in the ordinance for that Green Line project to say that there will be studies to extend it to the Blue Line in Long Beach. It says that no construction funds will be used to fund the studies, but it does not say that they cannot use Green Line Measure M funds on the construction of any such an extension.
Measure R+M brings the total funds for the project to $891 million.
An idea of the costs for the various additional segments can be found on page 5 of this document (2009 dollars) http://media.metro.net/projects_stud...ectiveness.pdf
Based on the link, the cost to get to Torrance is $494 million, but the $400 million extra brought by Measure M is not enough to get to the Blue Line, unless they can get funding elsewhere. |
I think you've misread the politics of the footnote. That Metro study the Green Line to Long Beach was a request of Long Beach, which is a member of the Gateway Cities COG, not the South Bay Cities COG (funder of the present extension). That is why it's stipulated that the study will not be funded using capital dollars for the Green Line Extension. The South Bay has not shown an interest in extending the line further, as evidenced by them opting not to extend the project area any further than that laid out by Measure R.
Supposing the extension costs less than available funds, that money can be used to fund other projects within the subregion, but only once it is agreed upon by the board members that all costs related to the project have been finalized which could be when the line opens or several years afterward. At that point, even if it were sufficient money to get to the Blue Line, which as you noted, it won't be, that money could not be spent within the city of Long Beach.