STATE VOTERS PAVE THE WAY FOR ROADWORK LOS ANGELES EXPECTED TO GET PART OF $20 BILLION.Byline: RACHEL URANGA and HARRISON SHEPPARD Staff Writers The statewide transportation bond voters passed Tuesday should bring some relief for Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, motorists -- from speedier trips on the 405 Freeway to greater access to public transportation. But to get there, Southern California will have to compete for funding with other regions statewide -- all with similarly urgent needs. ``They are all going to be lining up. This bond will make a huge difference,'' Caltrans spokesman Mark DeSio said. ``We have never seen the kind of construction sites that we are going to see now. It is going to be a boom time.'' Proposition 1B authorizes the state to issue $19.9billion in bonds for transportation projects, including highway construction and repairs, public transit, port security, car-pool lanes and reduction of air pollution. Most of the funding will be allocated over a number of years through the California Transportation Commission and, in some cases, with approval by the Legislature. Almost 4million California voters, or 61percent, approved Prop. 1B in Tuesday's election, with 2.5million rejecting it. Another transportation measure, Proposition 1A, protects transportation funding by making it more difficult for state officials to divert revenue from the 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. on gasoline, which amounts to at least $2billion per year. The measure passed with 76.6percent of the vote. As the state's most populous and congested con·gest·ed adj. Affected with or characterized by congestion. congested ENT adjective Referring to a boggy blood-filled tissue. See Nasal congestion. county, 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. is expected to get a large share of the revenue -- as much as $5billion, some officials predict. ``That will mean faster relief to some of the region's most congested roadways,'' 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. chief Roger Snoble said. ``We have the roadmap for Los Angeles County's better mobility, and working together, we can make it happen.'' The day after the election, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority released the region's first $1.54billion wish list of top-priority projects, including several that will provide 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. relief in 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. . But even within Los Angeles, some priorities may conflict, as different political leaders have different pet projects. For instance, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. has been touting his $4.8billion ``subway to the sea,'' while Eastside leaders hope to get money to extend the Gold Line deeper into the 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. . ``There is a real backlog of needed transportation projects throughout the state,'' said Marlon Boarnet, professor of planning policy and design at the University of California The University of California has a combined student body of more than 191,000 students, over 1,340,000 living alumni, and a combined systemwide and campus endowment of just over $7.3 billion (8th largest in the United States). , Irvine. ``But if voters thought this was the last funding they would need to provide mobility in California, they would be wrong. This is just a first step.'' rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com (818) 713-3741 WISH LIST The passage Tuesday of Propositions 1A and 1B creates more opportunities to fund local projects. Here's a sampling of proposed projects in the L.A. area: Wilshire Boulevard subway extension: $2.46 billion. Orange Line, north-south extension: $135 million. Car-pool lane on the northbound 405 Freeway between the 101 and 10 freeways: $730 million. Car-pool lane on the 5 Freeway between the 170 and 134 freeways: $606 million. Citywide traffic signal synchronization: $100 million. SOURCE: Daily News research CAPTION(S): box Box: WISH LIST (see text) |
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