MTA delays action on Gold Line extension
LOS ANGELES - To the chagrin of San Gabriel Valley leaders, the board of Los Angeles County's main transit agency voted Thursday to delay committing any funds to the Gold Line extension until November.
The delay means that the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will miss the deadline to receive $320 million in federal funding for the project.
The MTA would have had to put up $80 million to secure those funds.
"November will be too late," said Habib Balian, chief executive officer for the Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority. "We'll have to wait until next year."
On Thursday, the MTA board justified the delay to November to await the results of an expected county ballot measure that would increase sales tax by a half-cent to fund transit projects. MTA estimates that the increase could raise $40 billion over 30 years.
The group voted to approve preliminary language for the measure Thursday, and voted on a list of projects to be funded by the measure.
But the measure faces several limitations for the Gold Line project. Currently, a bill in the state Legislature is setting the parameters for the proposition.
That bill limits fund usage to the first phase of the project, which extends to the Azusa/Glendora border. It also slates the $320 million for the "Foothill Corridor," which has led to concerns that the funding could be used for a project other than the Gold Line.
"We need the MTA to live up to its agreements," said Monrovia Mayor Rob Hammond. "We've already approved transit-oriented developments, and we need to know what's going to happen."
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Doucharaigosa, who also is a board member, advocated for the sales tax increase as a way to get projects funded.
"If you think there won't be enough for all the projects in the long run, just wait and see what happens if we don't pass (the measure)," said Villaraigosa.
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