The day before the Los Angeles Metro Board votes on what path the Sepulveda Transit Corridor Project will take, a whole host of local officials gathered in front of Van Nuys City Hall to voice their support for a so-called Locally Preferred Alternative (LPA).
The project is a mass transit line connecting the San Fernando Valley to LA’s Westside via the Sepulveda Pass. It’s designed to offer a time-saving alternative to driving on the 405 Freeway between two of LA’s largest suburban areas.
The LPA is a rail-centered proposal that “will provide a fast, fully underground, high-capacity rail line” that will connect the valley to Westwood, the University of California, LA and the broader regional transit system.
More than a dozen officials assembled Wednesday morning to share their support for this alternative, including LA City Councilmembers Monica Rodriguez, Imelda Padilla, Nithya Raman, County Board Supervisor Lindsey Horvath and City of San Fernando Councilmember Mary Mendoza.
Horvath praised the effort and noted the contribution that local communities made. Although Mendoza is the chair of the San Fernando Valley Council of Governments (COG) – her own city was cut from the East San Fernando Valley Light Rail Transit, which could have provided a connected stop in her own community and now the City of San Fernando won’t optimally benefit from this project.
While the needs of all communities, officials said, were considered, they focused on the larger picture.
Raman discussed how the 405 Freeway is characterized by its heavy traffic, having experienced it herself that very morning, and how the city’s attempt to alleviate it years ago by adding more lanes failed. There needs to be a true alternative to just sitting in your car, she said, which this new proposal represents.
She highlighted the potential financial impact of this project as found in a study by the LA County Economic Development Corporation: $25-40 billion in economic output, 200,000 well-paying jobs and approximately $1.7 billion spent annually at stores, restaurants and entertainment venues by riders along the route.
“We need this project completed in full,” Raman said. “The valley has already had multiple transit projects that were value-engineered, where promised components were removed from them. For the most important transit project in the entire country, these changes are unacceptable. This must be built as planned.”
State Sen. Henry Stern said this project is the high-speed rail that LA has been waiting for. He affirmed his support by saying he’ll do his part to secure state funds for the project.
Due to state law, Stern said, the section of the California High-Speed Rail must be completed first before money can go towards this project. He believes that this law needs to change so that both projects can be funded simultaneously.
“I will say, LA always gets the short end of the stick,” Stern said. “The Bay [area] is very good at advocating for transit. Everybody likes to talk about the BART [Bay Area Rapid Transit], and the Central Valley has done a good job, but you know what? The drivers are here.”
The Metro board meeting is at 10 a.m. You can watch the meeting live in English or Spanish on their website at https://boardagendas.metro.net/.