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Originally Posted by easy as pie
not that it has entered even pre-construction, but the local business people voted massively (73%) IN FAVOR of the downtown streetcar, meaning you can add that to the list of upcoming projects. they're still waiting for federal funding to the tune of 50-something million from the rail fund, but it's los angeles and it'll happen. the current timeline sees delivery mid-2015, unlike virtually all of the rest of these projects, which look to be delivered after 2020  |
Not to burst your happiness bubble, but there is no EIR completed for the streetcar yet and no funding. An EIR, which will probably start early this year will take a minimum 18 months to complete. Usually, 2 years. Barring no legal challenges, then we need federal funding grants to match the 50% committed by downtown taxpayers. Then, we hit construction. So another year to seek federal funding and 2 years for construction/pre-construction......you're looking at 2018 at the earliest that the streetcar opens. Sorry. Wish 2015 was reasonable, but it's not. And that's primarily because no EIR has even started.
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Originally Posted by easy as pie
i don't know what has happened in los angeles, whether it's the national trend coming home in a big way or whether villaraigosa is a roosevelt-level pathblazer and visionary, but it's very special.
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Villaraigosa has been the best transportation mayor for LA, probably ever. During 2008, even when there was a near meltdown of the financial crises, he got LA County voters to support a new half cent sales tax by 68%! The Measure R tax alone guarantees 10 rail projects in LA over 30 years.
Also, people tend to forget that Antonio's first duty as Mayor was to convince Henry Waxman to overturn the FEDERAL subway drilling ban in Los Angeles. If you recall, before Antonio took office, it was illegal to get funding for a subway west of Western. Antonio ran on the platform of overturning the ban (which he did with his Methane Gas Commission that convinced Waxman to overturn a drilling ban), find funding (Measure R commits $4.1 billion) and complete studies. The last one, completing studies, something else people forget. In 2008, Metro moved forward with EIR's on 5 projects that all other supervisors at the time thought were "pie in the sky" with Crenshaw Corridor, Regional Connector and Westside Subway. But Antonio wanted to get the studies done early so that before he left office in 2013, the projects were starting construction. Guess what......he achieved all of that. He's been a Transportation God for LA, something he doesn't get enough respect for.
Let's hope our next Mayor is as good as Antonio. I hope its Garcetti who wants to continue the rail expansion. All other candidates keep saying more of the same "move bus stops off streets, no construction in rush hour, yadda yadda yadda". Antonio was a visionary who raised our tax, but now we're getting a transit system double its size when he first became Mayor.