TRANSIT FUNDS HIGH PRIORITY L.A. LEADERS PLEAD WITH MINETA FOR CASH.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

With 40 percent of the nation's freight load coming through Southern California's ports, regional transportation leaders urged the federal government Monday to help relieve freeway congestion that comes from hauling goods.

Representatives from the six-county Los Angeles metropolitan area told U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta they need more money in the upcoming transportation budget for highway improvements, including the beleaguered Long Beach Freeway to the south and a truck-lane demonstration project to the east.

``Our roads carry a tremendous burden. They transport cars, they transport the goods. ... It's becoming increasingly difficult,'' said Rep. Juanita Millender-McDonald, D-Torrance, who hosted the forum with the Southern California Association of Governments.

``We cannot afford to be stuck in congestion while the rest of the country waits for their goods,'' she said.

Mayors, county supervisors and transit agency heads met with Mineta in Carson as the Bush administration and Congress prepare a transportation spending plan for the next six years.

While the most recent funding cycle brought $14 billion, a 54 percent increase over the previous allotment, to the region, Mineta warned not to expect such a boost this time around.

Still, Mineta - who is from California - said he understood well the difficult issues facing the region, where population growth is expected to swell by 6 million people by 2020, further jamming crowded freeways.

``California's communities are impacted by a growing gap between capacity and demand - just ask the commuter,'' said Mineta, adding that a rush-hour commuter burns 204 gallons of gas on average each year in Los Angeles - more than anywhere in the nation. ``We must find ways to lighten the load.''

The secretary also spoke of the need to reduce the nation's 41,000 traffic fatalities each year and to put intelligent transportation systems to work in more sophisticated ways than freeway signs that read ``Congestion Ahead.''

``We agree transportation is the engine that drives our economy,'' he said.

But the key issue for those gathered - from Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Imperial counties - was getting federal money to bring relief from freight traffic, said Hal Bernson, the Los Angeles City Councilman who also is president of SCAG, and chairman of the MTA and Metrolink.

Officials pointed to the success of the Alameda Corridor, which opened earlier this year for trains hauling goods, but said more needs to be done to handle the lion's share of the nation's freight traffic.

Regional leaders also pitched specific projects - the Metropolitan Transportation Authority sought funding for its Eastside rail line from Union Station to East Los Angeles, its Exposition line from downtown through Exposition Park and University of Southern California to the Westside and its red Metro Rapid buses.

And a Los Angeles port official told the secretary they need help paying for beefed-up security procedures since 9-11.

Mayor James Hahn said the region needs more commuter rail, as well as routes that link to Los Angeles International Airport airport.

``It's a wonder we can move at all - some days we don't,'' said Hahn, who called for infrastructure funding on par with money spent when the freeways were built a generation ago.

``We think it's time for another push like that,'' he said. ``We are interested in increased funding for our projects.''