Questions for the MTA

WOW!$1.4 BILLION for a small hand full of people who will use the Gold Line. Why should I have to pay more taxes for a small group of people. If the Cities want this in there town then let them foot the bill by raising taxes in there area.

Then we have the $780 MILLION Tunnel!! Again here is a huge rip off the $780 MILLION will just be a starter if this ever gets going the cost will double or triple by completion.

Two different ideas that all support only a small portion of the County. What narrow minded people. There must be better ways to help all the people out not just a few.

The Big Lie--the MTA would not fund the Gold Line in the Sales Tax proposal. Truth: Richard Katz worked overtime with Assemblyman Feuer to assure over 700 million for the Gold Line in the sales tax measure, a major increase from the original proposal. Truth: our ineffective SGV representation doesn't know how to effectively reach a compromise, and would rather play the victim. The reality is that SGV is represented very poorly on the MTA Board.

I understand the SGV wants a system that services ALL the valley first, but good transportation regional planning requires to look at where most people work. What's the point of a system in SGV that only travels in SGV if you work on the westside? If this tax passes, you'll have a system that travels half way in the valley ... the longest light rail system in the country. I firmly believe the people in the SGV should look at this as half-full and realize that perception in this country toward public transportation is changing and we should expect more money from the state and federal government in the future so the other half can be built. However, if this tax is not passed, SGV will have to wait another twenty years before anything gets started again. Your representatives and newspapers are failing to give you the full picture about the consequences. We have representatives that can't see beyond their borders. It's called leadership. Anybody can complain about not getting enough. Nobody ever gets enough. Everybody is worried about LA getting over the rest of the county, but you should realize we currently don't have ANY rail. People in the Gateway cities and SGV should realize if you work on the
Westside how much better it is to ride the light rail to downtown and then take a subway to the Westside rather than take the light rail to downtown and then going by bus to the Westside.

hmm

It's official now. All of the transpiration funding the SGV and Eastern LA County will receive is for that smog producing big rig shipping corridor through South Pas starting from the port of Los Angeles. Other than that we get nothing. No Gold Line funding or freeway improvements. Nothing that benefits our area, only what benefits LA County and the MTA.

When considering the new sales tax LA County wants us to vote for it is important to realize that LA is a monetary black hole with all the corruption going on. We have hard working Whites, Asians, Hispanics and Blacks who don't like getting screwed out here.

No Gold Line; then no sales tax and No Toll lanes! Refuse taxation without representation. Don't buy big ticket items in LA County, use the internet. And just revolt and disregard the toll lanes. If you get a ticket don't pay. It will only work if everyone joins in.

We need a succession movement from Los Angeles now. Those criminals will keep riding us for taxes until we're dead.

Who ever puts together a succession movement from Los Angeles will get honored with a statue at both ends of the SGV. The SGV has enough money to become the next Orange County and can be great if we use our money on ourselves. We should annex the unincorporated areas of LA that are a blight in our communities, fix them up and have nothing to do with Los Angeles County except maybe contract with them for emergency services when needed. We pay an arm and a leg for those services anyway.

It is as clear as day now. The SGV makes the money. We pay taxes. LA country takes money. They are tax takers. We give; they take and give it to anyone in LA County but us. That is the only relationship we have with LA County. Most recently they have been bullied by the San Fernando Valley mafia after this area ran a successful succession movement. Good for them, bad for us.

These bastards in LA City Hall and at the MTA think we are too complacent and stupid to put together a succession movement. LA County and those city hall bribe taking crooks think we are nothing more than a bunch of do nothing aging W.A.S.P’s coupled with gullible money making immigrants. Let’s pack our shit and leave and see how well they do when the gravy train stops.

Too bad the LA Daily News doesn't serve the SGV. They helped get the secession movement on the ballot in the San Fernando Valley. I doubt the Pasadena Star News, SGV Tribune or Whittier Daily News which are owned by the LA Daily News have the balls to do this for our area.

One thing is for sure, everyone is sick of getting screwed out here by LA County and something has to be done right now; not later. Apparently our regional politicians have heard us loud and clear as Drier, Molina, Antonovich and Solis all say they will not support the tax hike if the Gold Line isn't built.

Garry Miller appears to be leading the charge for the SGV to get its share. Good for him. When was the last time all these politicians agreed on something? Amazing.

The MTA must be dismantled or at the very least all current members voted out along with the incompetent LA mayor. This organization is full of corruption. No way should ANYONE in LA have to give these people another dime to piss away.

Two years ago the MTA and downtown LA politicians raided the SGV and Eastern Los Angeles County's transportation bond funds that were supposed to fix the 10/605 interchange and handed them over to the San Fernando Valley to improve the 101 in order get a few extra votes from the San Fernando Valley. Do you think they are going to change if this sales tax is approved?

Also did you know the only reason the Gold Line was built was because the Feds forced LA County to give us funding. David Drier played a big role in getting funding for the Gold Line so thank him even if you don't really care for him. If it had been up to MTA and LA County the Gold Line would never have been built. If only more people knew. No on this sales tax! Prop 13 is already being dismantled with all these sneaky county and state bonds.

The MTA Board just lost the SGV $320 million in matching funding by failing to authorize the release of $80 M in tax dollars the SGV residents have already paid! This was apparently to get "leverage" for votes on the sales tax hike proposal, making our 8.25% sales tax one of the most oppressive in the nation! Vote NO! The MTA is as much a failure as a regional transportation agency as it is successful as a political arm of the City of Los Angeles, and the large contractors who stand to gain from the tremendous tunnel projects proposed in the new subway and the 710 tunnels. We don't need them, and we can't afford them. The last subway cost over a BILLION dollars a mile! How much per mile will these cost? How about some more buses, some cheaper monorail systems, and some off the shelf high speed rail instead? How about a direct rail from Union Station to each of the regional airports? Why not?(Hint: its about LA City's cut of the airport parking fees...) The San Gabriel Valley needs its own transit authority. We should pull all the tax money from the MTA, and get our own matching funds. Let LA deal with their own intractable and growing problems, and we will deal with ours.

How much of the Gold Line will be extended if the tax is not approved?

ZERO. Enjoy your two hour commutes.

No On Sales Tax wrote:

Too bad the LA Daily News doesn't serve the SGV. They helped get the secession movement on the ballot in the San Fernando Valley. I doubt the Pasadena Star News, SGV Tribune or Whittier Daily News which are owned by the LA Daily News have the balls to do this for our area.
One thing is for sure, everyone is sick of getting screwed out here by LA County and something has to be done right now; not later. Apparently our regional politicians have heard us loud and clear as Drier, Molina, Antonovich and Solis all say they will not support the tax hike if the Gold Line isn't built.
Garry Miller appears to be leading the charge for the SGV to get its share. Good for him. When was the last time all these politicians agreed on something? Amazing.
The MTA must be dismantled or at the very least all current members voted out along with the incompetent LA mayor. This organization is full of corruption. No way should ANYONE in LA have to give these people another dime to **** away.
Two years ago the MTA and downtown LA politicians raided the SGV and Eastern Los Angeles County's transportation bond funds that were supposed to fix the 10/605 interchange and handed them over to the San Fernando Valley to improve the 101 in order get a few extra votes from the San Fernando Valley. Do you think they are going to change if this sales tax is approved?
Also did you know the only reason the Gold Line was built was because the Feds forced LA County to give us funding. David Drier played a big role in getting funding for the Gold Line so thank him even if you don't really care for him. If it had been up to MTA and LA County the Gold Line would never have been built. If only more people knew. No on this sales tax! Prop 13 is already being dismantled with all these sneaky county and state bonds.

Re: ToddK, We have NO CONFIDENCE in "regional" planning by the MTA. Regional has been defined as we pay and others gain. No thanks. After fifteen years of seeing my tax dollars do down the tube, its more than enough. MTA is totally unresponsive to the San Gabriel Valley. Unresponsiveness may be the order of the day for LA agencies and LA schools, but here it doesn't cut it thank you. The decisions of MTA to not route the Green Line to LAX are obviously political to preserve LA's portion of parking fees, causing excessive airport traffic and congestion. And, building subways in earthquake prone, former oil fields with toxic and combustible gas is THE MOST EXPENSIVE mode of transportation. Above ground elevated rail could be in place much more rapidly, using existing freeway right of ways and roadways, and cost billions of dollars less. Go to Seattle, and ride their downtown monorail, what a nice experience. Why not here? Because contractors can make more on tunnelling and below ground, and there are more consequent political contributions. Too much corruption in the LA City system!!! No on any more tax hikes. No MORE!!! Generate your own business and tax base. I hope we can develop our own transportation organization that will be more manageable.

Sorry, but this does not fit the facts. At the last MTA Board Meeting the MTA Board turned down $320 million free federal dollars for San Gabriel Valley funding, despite may supporters at the meeting and politicians in favor. They just lost that money for us to they could try to use the Gold Line as a "vote getter" for the abominable sales tax increase. That puts us among the highest sales tax rates in the nation. Not so great for business is it? No on any new taxes!

Re: Straightpath1
It seems like we both want transit, but disagree about what to fund first. I totally agree MTA in the 80's and early 90's wasn't run properly, but they have improved. They were able to build the Gold Line to Pasadena on time and within budget. Plus, they still manage the Metrolink in SGV. The MTA has included the Gold Line extension third on their priority list which means it'll be built as soon as the tax is approved. That will extend the line to Azusa and increase the value for all the development projects currently underway along that route. Let's not forget, there is a high speed rail proposition, Prop 1, that has 950 million dollar for local transit in which the SGV will get a piece. The Gold Line gets more popular every week for obvious reasons. It would be the worse thing in the world for LA County to kill the momentum.

straightpath1 wrote:

Re: ToddK, We have NO CONFIDENCE in "regional" planning by the MTA. Regional has been defined as we pay and others gain. No thanks. After fifteen years of seeing my tax dollars do down the tube, its more than enough. MTA is totally unresponsive to the San Gabriel Valley. Unresponsiveness may be the order of the day for LA agencies and LA schools, but here it doesn't cut it thank you. The decisions of MTA to not route the Green Line to LAX are obviously political to preserve LA's portion of parking fees, causing excessive airport traffic and congestion. And, building subways in earthquake prone, former oil fields with toxic and combustible gas is THE MOST EXPENSIVE mode of transportation. Above ground elevated rail could be in place much more rapidly, using existing freeway right of ways and roadways, and cost billions of dollars less. Go to Seattle, and ride their downtown monorail, what a nice experience. Why not here? Because contractors can make more on tunnelling and below ground, and there are more consequent political contributions. Too much corruption in the LA City system!!! No on any more tax hikes. No MORE!!! Generate your own business and tax base. I hope we can develop our own transportation organization that will be more manageable.

You are right and so is Antonovich about regional funding.

This sales tax is for 30 YEARS!, making us one of the highest sales tax counties (8.50%) in the nation! Combine that with the proposals to increase the state personal income tax to the highest rates in the country, AND the highest gas taxes, AND the highest price per gallon of gas in the country, and this is a recipe for economic disaster.

The MTA is a total failure in meeting the needs of the San Gabriel Valley. The mayors of the San Gabriel Valley Cities should band together and create a new regional transportation agency, taking our tax dollars and federal matching dollars with it. Only then will we have any say in what happens with our money.

The MTA has chosen to build underground subways through earthquake zones and oilfields filled with toxic and combustible gas. This is some of the most expensive construction possible. Why did they not choose lesser expensive above ground elevated light rail and monorails as other reasonable cities? Why did the MTA and the City choose not to extend trains to LAX? Perhaps due to missed parking revenues that would have occured had people been able to take a train and not park there.

The City of LA gets large amounts of income from airport parking, landing fees, and harbor fees. Our transportation dollars have apparently been going to prop up those revenue sources for the City, and not to alleviate traffic and commute problems. Follow the money. Who are the contractors who get the MTA jobs, and which politicians do they donate to? Follow the money. Investigative reporters, any left out there?

Todd K wrote:

How much of the Gold Line will be extended if the tax is not approved?
ZERO. Enjoy your two hour commutes.
<quoted text>

at least we will have more money for gas!!!