GROUP TO ASK FOR TRANSIT ZONE; VALLEY BOARD WOULD BE INDEPENDENT OF MTA.Byline: David Bloom David Bloom (May 22, 1963 – April 6, 2003) was an NBC journalist (co-anchor of Weekend Today and reporter) until his sudden death in 2003 at the age of 39. Early life Daily News Staff Writer Frustrated by too much traffic 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. and too little control over transportation spending, 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. leaders today plan to ask for the creation of an independent local body to take over bus and other transit services from the 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. . ``We think that's the only way the Valley is going to get control of our own destiny,'' said Mel Wilson, a former Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member from Northridge who co-founded Valley Rapid Transit rapid transit, transportation system designed to allow passenger travel within or throughout an urban area, usually employing surface, elevated, or underground railway systems or some combination of these. Now. ``If we control the dollars, we control our destiny.'' Wilson's group of business, homeowner and community organizations wants to create a Valley transportation zone modeled after Foothill Transit, a subdivision of the MTA set up in 1988 to provide bus service in the central and eastern San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. . The MTA board would have to approve the zone and give power to the local board under existing legislation. A Valley transportation zone would be carved out of the MTA's service territory, taking over at least local bus service and receiving a guaranteed chunk of sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. funds that now go to the MTA, said David Mieger, the agency's Valley project manager. Though it's too soon to know how much in local funds the Valley would get back from the MTA, Foothill receives about $25 million a year, said Bill Forsythe, owner of the contract management company that runs Foothill. Any savings a zone realized could then go to expand bus service, provide shuttles, improve street and highway snarls, even build a light-rail line, backers say. County Supervisors Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San and Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. are set today to ask the board to study the plan. ``Transit zones allow San Fernando Valley residents to bring accountability and an efficient transportation system to the area,'' Antonovich said. Foothill ``provides safe, efficient, graffiti-free transportation at 30 percent less cost than the MTA delivers.'' Antonovich said he wants the zone to include Valley portions of Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. , San Fernando, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Westlake Village, Burbank and Glendale. The zone concept ``is worth taking a look at,'' Yaroslavsky said. Foothill Transit is considered a model transit zone. Since taking over from a predecessor of the MTA, Foothill has nearly doubled bus service, while cutting costs nearly in half. Fares are well below the MTA's rates. The average cash fare for MTA buses is $1.35 while Foothill charges 90 cents. Just as importantly, zone backers say, Foothill's governing body of San Gabriel Valley political leaders has become an effective and unifying voice on all kinds of transportation-related issues, marshaling the area's 21 small cities to win funding for a number of big road and rail projects. ``Local control by local elected officials is important,'' Forsythe said. Backers say a Valley zone could do the same thing, creating a Valley-only board that sets local priorities for local tax funds, while pushing the MTA and other transportation agencies to help solve the region's transportation headaches. ``Clearly when it comes to transit, smaller is better, local is better,'' said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino. ``It will clearly create local control, and give us local auditing, with better ability to track the money.'' Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents the Valley on the MTA board, said he wants to see how an independent zone would knit with a region-wide transportation system. ``I think there could be a place for it in the overall structure,'' Bernson said. Councilman Richard Alarcon said he may demand the MTA create the zone as part of expected negotiations over the MTA's likely default on a $200 million deal with the city for subway construction money. |
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