LA legislators are demanding $3.3B *annually* from Cap and Trade earmarked for LA county transit in exchange for funding high-speed rail. With C&T bringing in an average of $4B/year, this effectively defunds transit (and other C&T programs) for the rest of the state. www.politico.com/f/?id=000001...
If “Los Angeles” wants dedicated funding like HSR is asking for, they need to explain exactly what they want to build and how it will advance statewide environmental goals… just asking for money “for Los Angeles” shouldn't fly.
So if its it’s $3B after $1B goes to hsr they demanding more than 100% of the remaining money 🙃
A one-time $3.3B would electrify 75% of Metrolink at Caltrain costs. SCORE and LinkUS have big funding gaps. But the LA delegation's proposed capital $ would mostly go to local improvements that are vaguely defined or don’t improve service - like ZE buses and grade separations.
We’d love to see every region get $3.3B/year for transit, and reducing Cap & Trade allowances could help get there, but that’s not mentioned in LA’s proposal. In context, LA legislators are playing politics with critical funding that at best delays and at worst defunds important projects like HSR.
plow ahead like snowpiercer
This looks like a repeat of 2022, when Laura Friedman and Anthony Rendon delayed releasing HSR bond money for almost two years in an effort to divert HSR money to LA, contributing to delays and cost increases. They even proposed running hydrogen trains on HSR! cal.streetsblog.org/2021/09/08/i...
This impasse was eventually resolved with a one time $1.1 B payment to LA – which Metro tried to spend entirely on two projects, primarily the troubled A line extension to Montclair. bsky.app/profile/numb...
The A line extension has a higher per-mile cost than high-speed rail at $280m/ mile, due to its unusual single-bid procurement process and executive salaries that exceed Metro’s, as well as duplicative design that requires relocation of Metrolink tracks. socaltransiteer.substack.com/p/foothill-e...
The letter’s references to “Inland Empire supercommuters”, despite this proposal effectively defunding rail capital projects outside LA county, suggest a similar strategy to bail out the A line to Montclair. LinkUS and Metrolink double track would do more for supercommuters but may not see $ here.
At the latest Transit Transformation Task Force, Metro representatives expressed concerns about recommendations for increased state oversight over cost escalations. Seemingly, they would prefer to seek bailouts for over-budget projects rather than get costs under control.
To their credit, Metro has pursued and delivered an ambitious transit capital program. But it’s hard to say they’re starving for capital, when they've successfully delivered projects like the D and K extensions as critical regional rail projects flounder for lack of funding. bsky.app/profile/cale...
Ultimately this cycle of uncertainty created by patchwork grant programs and political extortion hurts everyone, including LA transit riders. Important projects stall, low service benefit projects advance, and costs go up everywhere – reducing the total number of projects. bsky.app/profile/cale...
We need to move away from a patchwork of grant programs towards multi-year investment frameworks, with incentives towards service and cost-effective design. Sadly, the LA delegation's proposal goes in the opposite direction. calelectricrail.org/wp-content/u...
i’m sorry it *what*
The project extends the A line, the world's longest light rail line, onto Metrolink ROW between Pomona and Montclair. It has all the same stops as Metrolink (though they are moving the Claremont Metrolink stop farther away from downtown to accommodate the A line).
and it’s somehow more expensive than HSR per mile???
Compared to the latest cost estimates for the Central Valley IOS, which are 215 m/mi. The A line extension is $878 m for 3.2 miles of light rail.
They need to take the money from highways.
It should be conditioned on approving alt 4 for sepulveda pass
What does that second paragraph even mean?