Transportation

Whittier Greenway Trail Transit Plan Derailed

Light rail trains will not be running down the middle of the Whittier Greenway Trail in the future, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

Metro has started work on the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project that would extend the Gold Line light rail system to cities further east of Los Angeles, including Whittier. One of the four routes under consideration for the future light rail extension would have included running tracks down the middle of the Whittier Greenway Trail.

Metro will be abandoning any further consideration of the Greenway Trail option after significant community opposition and the opposition by Supervisor Knabe, who serves as First Vice Chair of Metro’s Board of Directors. In addition, technical analysis indicates that the route has several fatal flaws that renders it infeasible for construction.

I am adamantly opposed to any Gold Line track alignment that would come anywhere near the Greenway Trail, said Supervisor Knabe.

Having train tracks run down the middle of the trail was not what I had in mind when committed $100,000 in public park funds towards the project, and it is not what supporters of the Greenway Trail had in mind either. The expansion of mass transit options in the area is critically needed, given our congested roads and expected 25-percent increase in local population in the next two decades, but we can’t expand mass transit at the expense of parks and open space."

The Greenway Trail is a five-mile bicycle/pedestrian trail which replaces an abandoned railroad right-of-way. The trail was dedicated in January 2009 and begins in the northwest corner of Whittier, near the 605 Freeway.

New Series Of Property Tax Assessment Seminars Set

The County of Los Angeles is sponsoring a series of free seminars monthly through December to assist property owners who feel their taxes should be lowered due to a decline in the value of their property. The 90-minute seminars will be offered one time at each location: Culver City, El Monte, Glendale, Lakewood, Lancaster and Van Nuys. Additional meetings will be scheduled throughout the County on a year-round basis.

The meetings are intended to help taxpayers better understand the assessment appeals process, which many find confusing. The seminars will be of value to homeowners who are interested in learning about the assessment appeals process and to those who have already filed an appeal. The seminars will cover taxpayers appeal rights and when to file an application for reduction in assessment. The seminars will also cover how to prepare for a hearing, what qualifies as admissible evidence, what will happen at the hearing and what to expect after the hearing.

The dates, times and locations of the sessions are:

Van Nuys – Bernardi Senior Center, 6514 Sylmar Avenue, July 22, 2:00 p.m.

Free parking on Hamlin.

Lakewood – Iacoboni Library, 4900 Clark Avenue, August 10, 10:00 a.m.

Parking at corner of Clark and Del Amo.

Lancaster – Lancaster Library, 23743 Valencia Boulevard, September 16, 10:00 a.m.

Free parking at the Library.

Culver City – Dixon Library, 4975 Overland Avenue, October 13, 10:00 a.m.

Free parking behind the Library.

El Monte – Crippen Senior Center, 3120 Tyler Avenue, November 12, 10:00 a.m.

Free parking at the Center.

Glendale – Glendale Library, 222 Harvard Street, December 2, 10:00 a.m.

Parking at the corner of Maryland and Harvard.

Persons with disabilities who believe they need reasonable accommodation or help in order to attend a seminar may call (213) 974-7953. Hearing-impaired persons with TDD equipment may leave a typewritten message by calling (800) 735-2929 (TDD). Schedules for meetings may be obtained by calling (213) 974-7953 or
click here.

Local Roads Could Crumble Under State Proposal

Los Angeles County would lose nearly a quarter-billion dollars in local transportation and roadway maintenance funds under a proposal currently being considered by California State leaders.

The Legislature’s Budget Conference committee proposes taking two years of the local portion of the gas tax collected for the Highway Users Tax Account (HUTA). Meanwhile, the California Department of Finance has proposed a one-year suspension of Proposition 42, which requires a portion of the sales taxes collected on gasoline be directed for local transportation needs where the gas was sold.

Between the HUTA and Proposition 42 suspensions, cities and counties across California would lose $1.7 billion for transportation and roadway needs. In Los Angeles County, the County’s Department of Public Works would lose over $215 million in the next two years. Cities within Los Angeles County would lose tens of millions more for their own transportation needs.

The potential loss of these goes far beyond simply fixing potholes, said Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors.

These transportation dollars are used for public safety fleets, maintaining our first responder systems, and ensuring our streets don’t crumble away. Taxpayers pay for these funds at their local gas pumps, so the local money the State wants to take should rightfully stay in place to pay for local projects.

The proposed reduction will essentially gut core municipal services and programs provided by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. The majority of County gas tax revenues received from the State directly funds road emergency response, road maintenance, street sweeping, street lighting, snow removal, traffic signal maintenance, tree maintenance and other critical services along the 3,422 miles of roadways and highways maintained by Public Works.

County Launches Emergency Notification System

Los Angeles County is unveiling a new emergency mass notification system to alert residents and businesses by phone, text, and e-mail of emergencies in their area, Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors announced today.

Called Alert LA County, the system will allow the Sheriff’s Emergency Communications Center to activate local and regional alerts by drawing the boundaries of the area to be notified on a computer map. Recorded and written alerts will provide information on the nature of the emergency and necessary actions, such as evacuations. The system is so precise it will allow the exclusion of a single home, useful in situations involving hostages or crimes in progress.

The County’s 7.1 million land-line phone numbers are programmed into the mass notification system, but the public must register Voice over IP lines, cell phones and e-mail addresses. The website http://alert.lacounty.gov may be used to register your cell phone number, Voice over IP phone number, and e-mail address with the Emergency Mass Notification System. Registration of this information can be done on the County’s Alert.lacounty.gov website. Each telephone number and e-mail can be associated with only one street address.

If a call is picked up by an answering machine when an alert is being issued, a recorded message will be left. If the number is busy or does not answer, the number will be redialed twice. The system has the ability to detect and communicate with telecommunication devices for the deaf (TTY/TDD).

The Alert LA County system project will cost $1.97 million cost over five years, which includes the purchase of the 911 data from the local telephone companies. Land-line numbers will be refreshed on a monthly basis to ensure accuracy and numbers registered on the website will be added to the database on a nightly basis.

Seismic Retrofit Of Imperial Highway Bridge Now Complete In Downey And Norwalk

The Imperial Highway Bridge over the San Gabriel River has been seismically retrofit in the Cities of Downey and Norwalk, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

This $812,040 project is a part of the Federal Highway Bridge Program. Under this program, Federal funds are allocated to local agencies and are used to finance 88.53 percent of the eligible costs of bridge seismic retrofit projects. The remaining 11.47 percent of the cost of the project will be financed with State Proposition 1B funds. Additional funding for the project was provided by the Fourth Supervisorial District’s Road Construction Program.

By retrofitting this bridge, both the drivers and pedestrians who use the bridge will benefit by crossing a safer bridge, said Supervisor Knabe.

County Continues The Transit Pass Subsidy Program

Eligible unincorporated County residents will continue to receive reduced monthly transit pass fees, after the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved funding today for the Transit Pass Subsidy Program.

The Transit Pass Subsidy Program provides subsidized monthly transit fares to eligible seniors, persons with disabilities, and students residing in all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. The program, which began in 1985, seeks to encourage the use of public transit by providing residents with financial assistance to meet their transit needs. The program is administered by METRO at an estimated cost of $1,500,000. Funding for the Transit Pass Subsidy Program is available through the County’s Proposition A Local Return Transit Program.

Click here if you would like more information on the Transit Pass Subsidy Program or to view eligibility requirements visit.

Funding Continues For Fourth District Paratransit Shuttle Service

Supervisor Don Knabe today announced that the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved $664,000 in funding for the continuation of paratransit shuttle service for eligible patrons in the unincorporated areas of the Fourth District for Fiscal Year 2009-2010.

The program will include the following paratransit shuttle services: La Rambla, Marina del Rey, Rancho Los Amigos, Teen Mother, and the Whittier Islands.

I am pleased to be able to secure the funds for this service, said Supervisor Knabe. Many of our transit dependent residents utilize public transportation and these shuttle services are a vital component of their livelihood.

The County will provide funding through the Fourth District’s Proposition A Local Return Transit Program. The financing continues the successful shuttle service for eligible patrons of the unincorporated areas of the Fourth District, improving mobility for transit dependant patrons.

Funding Continues For The Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority Shuttle Service

The Board of Supervisors approved the disbursement of $408,200 to the Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority to continue public transit services for the Fiscal Year 2009-2010, Supervisor Don Knabe announced today.

The funds for the disbursement come from the Fourth Supervisorial District’s allocation of Proposition A Local Return Transit Program funds.

"This shuttle service on the Palos Verdes Peninsula has been very successful throughout the years, said Supervisor Knabe. The allocation of these funds will aid many students and seniors on the Peninsula who need an effective way of getting around."

For more information about the Palos Verdes Peninsula Transit Authority visit. http://www.palosverdes.com/pvtransit

Knabe, Supervisors To Meet With Federal Leaders

Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, is in Washington, D.C. this week, leading the County’s annual legislative meetings with federal lawmakers. Over the next three days, the Board of Supervisors will meet with members of the California Congressional delegation, federal agencies, and other key decision makers.

Among the County’s top federal priorities this year are the reopening of MLK hospital, climate change impact on Los Angeles County, funding for the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, and the continued development of an interoperable communications system that will allow public safety agencies to easily communicate with each other during a local disaster.

Supervisor Knabe will also be discussing the continuation of the C-17 program at Boeing’s Long Beach Plant, the need for additional dredging in Marina del Rey, and securing federal workforce investment funding in order to create temporary local jobs in Los Angeles County.

Supervisor Knabe will be available to discuss the County’s federal priorities with members of the media while he is in Washington, D.C. He can be reached through press secretary David Sommers, (213) 453-6446, or dsommers@bos.lacounty.gov. Supervisor Knabe also has a dedicated section of his website, containing video blogs about the County’s federal priorities, and downloadable copies of the issue papers. The site is available at www.knabe.com or www.knabe.com/dc

Knabe Statement On Proposed 2009-2010 Los Angeles County Budget

Supervisor Don Knabe, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, issued the following statement on the 2009-2010 County Budget proposal:

The Chief Executive Officer’s plan for the Los Angeles County 2009-2010 Budget reveals that our County is not immune to the financial shortfalls and challenges that are facing other levels of government, but fortunately, Los Angeles County is on better financial ground right now than many cities and counties because of our purposeful planning and financially conservative budgeting practices.

Even so, our conservative budget planning is not enough. Revenue is declining dramatically and we do not have enough money to pay for ongoing services and programs. So far, the County has been able to absorb many of the hits to our budget in the current year without resorting to any personnel reductions or reductions in services.

Unfortunately, the upcoming fiscal year will require some cuts to departments to help close our General Fund operating deficit and we will have much more work in the months ahead in order to close our financial shortfalls. The County is not immune from the perils of our current economy and additional cuts may be needed to continue on an ongoing basis until our economy recovers.

Ultimately, the Board of Supervisors will adopt a budget that will be balanced and on-time, just as it is every year. The County does not have the luxury the Federal or State government has with continued deficit spending. The County must, by law, adopt a balanced budget ever year on time. We will do that again this year, but it will require some creative ideas and shared sacrifice. For example, many of the County’s partners in delivering service, our public safety labor groups, have already signed a one-year extension to expiring contracts with no increases to salary or benefits. More of this type of shared sacrifice will be required going forward to ensure our balanced budget protects critical programs and has the least possible impact to services.