GIVING THE VALLEY CONTROL; INDEPENDENCE FROM MTA ONLY WAY FOR REGION OF MILLIONS TO GET ITS SHARE.

Byline: Tom Hayden 

FOR the umpteenth time in the past few years, an MTA delegation was in Washington, D.C., last week telling federal officials that all was well at the troubled regional transportation agency.

This time it was Mayor Richard Riordan, who brought along his hand-picked exorcist - corporate turn-around artist Julian Burke - who, as interim CEO, is supposedly driving out the fiscal demons that plague the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Infamous for its construction fiascoes and scandals, Riordan and Burke argued that the MTA has gotten its financial house in order by suspending for six months the Red Line subway extensions to the Eastside and Mid-City and the Pasadena Blue Line. Some were apparently impressed. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., reportedly said the MTA was doing a ``good job'' in restoring public confidence.

That line might sell in the Beltway. But in the San Fernando Valley, promises of MTA reform ring hollow.

Through mismanagement, inflated revenue projections and overcommitments, the MTA is in a fiscal sinkhole. And, after years of lobbying - and paying $1.3 billion in local sales taxes - for a transportation system that has never materialized, Valley taxpayers now know the train has left the station without them. There will never be an east-west line, as promised.

The MTA has squandered billions of dollars on a subway system that has cost $300 million-plus per mile. A shocking 20 percent of its annual $3 billion budget goes to service subway bond indebtedness. Cost overruns, like the recently disclosed $79.1 million for the Hollywood subway, are passed on to the taxpayers, including those in the Valley.

Perhaps the greatest insult to the Valley came in 1995, when the MTA removed the east-west line from its priority list, transferring the money instead to 12 other projects, including road improvements for the DreamWorks SKG development.

As a state senator, I have attempted to reform the MTA. After three years of trying, my bill to ban MTA board members from accepting campaign contributions from subway contractors was passed into law last year. But is it too late for the Valley? Probably.

That's why I plan to introduce a bill to create a San Fernando Valley Transportation Authority, giving the 1.2 million Valley residents total autonomy to create a mass transit system that works for them.

Having all the powers and responsibilities vested in the MTA, the VTA will plan and program resources for a Valley transportation system. It will negotiate and coordinate with regional, state and federal agencies.

Board members will live in the Valley and have experience in transportation planning and quality-of-life issues. They'll be appointed by the cities within the VTA boundaries, the state Legislature and the governor.

The VTA boundaries will be the county line to the west, the eastern edge of Glendale to the east, Mulholland Drive to the south and the northern edge of the cities of Los Angeles and San Fernando to the north. County sales tax money for transportation projects generated in the Valley through voter-approved Propositions A and C will stay in the Valley. No more fixing sinkholes in Hollywood. The VTA also would receive its fair share of state gas-tax money.

Some local elected officials are proposing a Valley transit zone for control over the bus system. As a model of success, they point to Foothill Transit in the San Gabriel Valley.

Unfortunately, a transit zone does not provide the independence Valley residents need. For instance, the MTA can approve the zone only after admitting services there can be provided better and cheaper. Let's face it, self-realization hasn't been the MTA's strong suit.

If the zone were approved, it would still be dependent on the MTA for funding. With the MTA board still hoping to complete the subway as planned, that's a risky proposition. And don't think for a minute the subway is dead.

The Red Line subway was supposed to make Los Angeles a ``world-class city.'' Instead, it has been a fiscal train wreck. It's become the most expensive subway in U.S. history. And while pursuing subway construction at the risk of self-destruction, the MTA has ignored its transit-dependent patrons by allowing its bus system to become the most crowded in the nation.

Last month, a motion before the MTA board to kill the subway for good could only muster three votes. Instead, the board transferred $207 million in state gas-tax funds to finish the North Hollywood subway, money that could have been used for capital projects, like a dedicated busway along Burbank-Chandler or some other agreed-upon corridor. Or sound walls. Car-pool lanes. Signal synchronization or other projects to reduce traffic and air pollution.

It's not as if the MTA had no other options, according to David Fleming, Valley resident and California Transportation Committee commissioner. Fleming maintains the MTA could have transferred $300 million in unused state money earmarked in 1996 for the Eastside and Mid-City subway extensions and the Pasadena Blue Line to finish North Hollywood. But, it diverted money away from other badly needed capital projects - $2.6 billion worth - to keep the subway alive. ``This shows they are still in love with rail,'' said Fleming.

Julian Burke has told insiders that he cannot stop the subway boondoggle for political reasons. The MTA board won't let him. So much for the ghost-busting CEO.

It's time to give the Valley a voice.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos

Photo: (1--3--Color) no caption (Buses, Freeway)