OUR OPINION; RAIL ON; DAVIS' PLAN IS A START, BUT NOTHING SOLVES THE MTA PROBLEM.Gov. Gray Davis delivered a golden spike This article is about railroad construction. For information on "golden spikes" in geology, see Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point. A "golden spike" is the last, ceremonial spike driven specifically to mark the completion of a railroad line. to 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. on Thursday - millions promised for transportation. Most definitely, it is welcome news. But it doesn't go anywhere far enough for a community of more than 1.5 million people who have been so underserved for so long. And there is one giant if: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The MTA's history suggests it will not treat the Valley fairly or deliver the proposed projects on time, on budget and on location. 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. has long cheated the Valley out of its fair share of transit and transportation dollars and taken the huge amount of tax dollars generated from the Valley and used them elsewhere. Even when the Valley is in line, the MTA usually finagles a way to cancel its route, and there's nothing to suggest it has changed its profligate prof·li·gate adj. 1. Given over to dissipation; dissolute. 2. Recklessly wasteful; wildly extravagant. n. A profligate person; a wastrel. ways. Perhaps for the rest of the state, Davis' new $15 billion transportation package will truly begin to make a difference in solving 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 easing the pain of going places in California This list of current cities, towns, unincorporated communities, counties, and other recognized places in the U.S. state of California also includes information on the number and names of counties in which the place lies, and its lower and upper ZIP code bounds, if applicable. . And on paper, his proposal to give the Valley $400 million to include adding an HOV lane HOV lane n. An expressway lane restricted to vehicles with at least a set minimum of occupants, usually two. on the 405 Freeway through the Sepulveda Pass to the 10 Freeway and constructing a bus way that will zip commuters from North Hollywood to Warner Center sounds like a constructive start. But let's face it, the Valley has been waiting for the bus that never comes for a very long time. Meanwhile, the MTA forges ahead with unrealistic plans to build costly rail projects that serve few and are far removed from where most commuters need to go. Currently, the MTA has planned $700 million in rail projects for the Westside to downtown and from Boyle Heights to downtown. Even the 101-405 freeways project is under the MTA's control. And despite the leadership by state Assemblyman Wally Knox and others in pushing for solutions to the 101-405 connector problem, it alone will cost $300 million for any substantive upgrade and precious little is being proposed to fix it. The Davis proposal is a start. But unless the MTA makes a sudden and dramatic turnaround, nothing will get finished unless it benefits the downtown power structure. The Valley needs its own transportation authority under Valley leadership to get the job done without dragging out construction and ultimately squandering squan·der tr.v. squan·dered, squan·der·ing, squan·ders 1. To spend wastefully or extravagantly; dissipate. See Synonyms at waste. 2. all the money in dirty deals with influential contractors. Throwing money at problems without a credible agency ensuring that the work gets done properly will solve nothing. |
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