DAVIS ROLLS OUT TRANSIT PROPOSALS.Byline: Dominic Berbeo Staff Writer NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Gov. Gray Davis gave details of his $15 billion traffic decongestion plan Thursday to the cheers of Democratic politicians, but others said it's a transportation proposal that doesn't go far enough or fast enough. ``California is creating nearly 18 percent of the new jobs in this country,'' Davis said in remarks at the Metro Red Line subway station in North Hollywood. ``The economy is booming. . . . But people can't work if they can't get to work.'' The plan suggests using $3 billion from the state budget in the next four years and putting a bond measure on the November ballot for $2.2 billion more to ``get the state moving.'' Local governments around the state would then be responsible for the additional $10 billion through their own budgets and federal matching funds Noun 1. matching funds - funds that will be supplied in an amount matching the funds available from other sources cash in hand, finances, funds, monetary resource, pecuniary resource - assets in the form of money . Included is roughly $400 million to add a car-pool lane on the San Diego Freeway The San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405, and the part of Interstate 5 south of the El Toro Y[1]) is one of the principal north-south highways in Southern California, and the major beltway of I-5 running through Southern California. through the Sepulveda Pass Sepulveda Pass (el. 1130 ft. / 334 m.) is a mountain pass through the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, California. It is often called Poop-Out Pass, a phrase once used by now-deceased traffic reporter Bill Keene. , add a new east-west bus route from North Hollywood to Warner Center, and study long-term solutions to congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. on the Ventura Freeway The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. between the Hollywood Freeway and the 23 Freeway in Thousand Oaks. Nate Brogin of Sherman Oaks, a board member of the Southern California Regional Rail Authority, said the plan falls short of a real solution to Los Angeles' gridlock Gridlock A government, business or institution's inability to function at a normal level due either to complex or conflicting procedures within the administrative framework or to impending change in the business. and questioned the reliance on long-term debt Long-Term Debt Loans and financial obligations lasting over one year. Notes: For example debts obligations such as bonds and notes which have maturities greater than one year would be considered long-term debt. . ``It's a step in the right direction, but the need is much greater,'' he said. ``I also can't fathom why the governor would include an expensive bond in the funding when we had a huge budget surplus and will probably have a bigger one this year.'' Brogin cited an estimation by the Southern California Association of Governments that as much as $11 billion in productivity is lost in the state annually because of transportation delays. But others, including Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, D-Los Angeles, welcomed the plan, which needs support from Republicans as well as Democrats in the Legislature for passage. ``Traffic in Los Angeles is so bad,'' he said, ``that, 'You can't get there from here' is becoming a mantra. I support this plan because it puts us on the right track for the future.'' About a dozen state, county and local lawmakers from Los Angeles gathered at a news conference in front of the under-construction subway station on Lankershim Boulevard to support the governor's proposal. Mayor Richard Riordan said the plan has his full support. ``Our infrastructure has lagged behind our growing population for many years,'' Riordan said. ``This plan aims to solve our transportation problems today, not 25 years from now.'' Julian Burke, chief executive officer of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, said he was glad Davis was centering attention on Los Angeles' traffic problems. ``But there is still much, much more needed in mass transit solutions for Los Angeles,'' Burke said. ``Just getting state government to focus on transportation issues is a great step forward, so it's a start.'' The plan includes $4.7 billion for a variety of rail, bus and highway projects - $2.24 billion in the Los Angeles area, $1.45 billion in the San Francisco Bay Area “Bay Area” redirects here. For other uses, see Bay Area (disambiguation). The San Francisco Bay Area, colloquially known as the Bay Area or The Bay , $481 million in the San Diego area and $518 million in the Central Valley. Davis also recommended spending $500 million to ease a backlog in road maintenance and asked lawmakers to allocate $5 million to begin environmental studies for a high-speed rail system that would link Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego. For the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , Davis proposed state funding of $245 million - a large portion of the cost - to build the east-west rapid-bus corridor that would connect Warner Center to the Metro Red Line subway station in North Hollywood, which is set to open this summer. For $1.35 each way, the subway will connect to downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or , LAX, Norwalk and Long Beach. Roughly $16 million would pay for a computerized traffic signal system along Ventura, Victory and Sepulveda boulevards to improve vehicle flow. Also in the plan is $150 million for buying up to 385 new MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. buses in Los Angeles, and $236 million to go toward a light-rail line from Union Station in downtown Los Angeles to Monterey Park in East Los Angeles East Los Angeles, uninc. city (1990 pop. 126,379), Los Angeles co., S Calif., a residential suburb of Los Angeles, in an industrial area. It has a large Mexican-American population. There is a performing arts center and a cultural center. A junior college is there. . CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Gov. Gray Davis pumps his fist with enthusiasm Thursday as he discusses details of his transportation plan with officials at the North Hollywood subway stop at Lankershim Boulevard. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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