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Thursday, Mar 28, 2024

Last Stop on the Orange Line

Those familiar with the Valley Industry & Commerce Association (VICA) and our transportation coalition, Valley on Track, already know what we want for the Orange Line busway – a conversion to light rail. Currently, the Orange Line carries twice its initially estimated capacity – 30,000 passengers a day. Would-be passengers are often turned away at peak hours, when Valley residents are traveling to and from work. The incredible demand has made the Orange Line overcrowded and inefficient. There is nowhere for the Orange Line in its current form to go from here. Decades ago when the Orange Line was first built, Metro wanted to build it as a rail line. Unfortunately, strong community opposition at the time led to it being built just as a bus line, and an overall ban on above-ground rail in parts of the Valley was imposed. Last year, a repeal of the ban prompted Metro to perform a feasibility study of the Orange Line. Last month, Metro released a report outlining two different proposals to solve the Metro Orange Line’s problems. The first was that enhancements be made to the existing bus line, such as increasing speeds through intersections, at-grade crossing improvements, grade separations at key intersections and increased bus capacity. The price tag for the enhancements is between $230 and $350 million. The second proposal, a conversion to light rail, was originally estimated by Metro to cost about $2 billion. The report just released sets the cost between $1.2 and $1.6 billion. Much of the infrastructure for a rail line was installed at the start of the Orange Line’s construction, skimming off about 25 percent of the cost. At first glance, it may seem tempting to go with the cheaper option. But just because something is cheap comparatively doesn’t mean it’s a good deal. A conversion to rail would increase capacity by a whopping 250 to 580 percent, compared to just 50 to 100 percent with bus line enhancements. Existing Orange Line commuters have proven that the demand is there, and it’s not being met. Converting to a rail line would also attract new users, as rail wins out over bus transit in regards to comfort, cleanliness and efficiency. Rail is the only mode of transportation that will inspire people to get out of their cars and alleviate the horrible traffic that plagues the Valley. Light rail would decrease travel times by about 15 minutes, while bus line improvements would only decrease travel times by about 10 to 12 minutes. That three to five minute difference adds up – not to mention, with light rail, the line could make more individual trips per day. If you’re still not convinced that a $1.2 to 1.6 billion investment to fund the Orange Line’s conversion is necessary, consider this – a half-cent sales tax to fund L.A. County transportation projects is headed to the 2016 ballot. By MoveL.A.’s estimates, the initiative, which has been referred to as Measure R2, could raise $90 billion over its 45-year life. $1.6 billion is a drop in the bucket, especially for a solution as opposed to a band-aid. The Valley supported Measure R in 2008, also a half-cent sales tax to fund countywide transportation projects, set to expire in 2039. And it did so even though there wasn’t much in Measure R for the Valley, save for some improvements to the 405 freeway, the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor and the Sepulveda Pass. At 1.8 million residents, the Valley accounts for 20 percent of L.A. County’s population – yet there are only two Metro rail stations here, out of more than 80 total in the county. The Valley is consistently handed the short end of the stick on a number of issues, but public transit tops that list. The Valley, a junction for the Santa Clarita, Antelope, and San Gabriel Valleys, Ventura County and the rest of L.A., is nestled at the No. 1 most congested freeway interchange in the U.S. – the 101 and 405. It’s difficult to understand why there hasn’t been a stronger push by transportation officials to increase public transit options here and give L.A. County its millions of hours in lost productivity back. We can’t wait to convert the Orange Line to light rail. Making some bus line enhancements and seeing how those pan out before inevitably pursuing a conversion to rail isn’t an option. Measure R2 is our only shot at funding the Orange Line’s conversion. VICA urges Valley business leaders and residents to tell Metro that we cannot accept another sales tax measure that doesn’t meet our needs. Stuart Waldman is president of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, a business advocacy organization based in Sherman Oaks that represents employers throughout the Los Angeles County region at the local, state and federal levels of government.

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