By Steve Hymon, July 24, 2014
Los Angeles Mayor and Metro Board Chair Eric Garcetti delivering his remarks on Thursday morning. Photo by Steve Hymon/Metro.
As noted earlier, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is the
Chair of the Metro Board of Directors for the next year. At the start of
today’s Board meeting, Garcetti briefly outlined his goals as Board
Chair. Here are some highlights from his comments.
•”When you’re talking about
transportation, the top priority has to be reducing traffic. Traffic,
especially in Los Angeles, defines our lives. It keeps us from being
with our loved ones and enjoying life’s daily moments. But it’s equally
important that we provide good service for our customers and build for
the future.
“The only way we can do that well is by working together as a region. We all know that traffic doesn’t care about borders. And none of us can serve our constituents well if we only care about what happens inside our city limits.”
•”How we do that? Innovation and technology. That’s not
only the obvious things — like having cell service in our stations or
creating an app where riders can load their tap cards on their phones so
they don’t have to wait in line at the ticket machine.”
•”We must always be looking at where there is new demand
and build projects in our most heavily traveled corridors. We must
complete projects like the Exposition line all the way to Santa
Monica. We must plan to build the Gold Line extension to
Claremont. We must improve service between the San Fernando Valley and
the Westside. We must make sure the Blue Line is fixed, and our highest
[ridership] rail line runs like it once did. And we must find a way
to open the train to the planes by the time the Crenshaw Line starts
running.”
•”I’m committed to keeping the momentum going on our
construction projects — and making sure they’re done on time and on
budget. We cannot repeat the cost overruns and sinkholes of the 1990s."
“When I became Mayor, I was told the new lane on the 405
project wouldn’t be open until the fall. So I called an old friend, Nick
Patsaouras, and asked him to volunteer his time and talents to get it
done sooner. He came through big for us. As Chair, I am calling on him
to now lend his expertise and provide construction oversight of the
Crenshaw Line.”
•”Over the last year, we were successful in securing over
three billion dollars from the federal government. I’m confident that
success will continue if we work together across the region to get our
fair share from Washington and Sacramento. But we also need to think
creatively about public-private partnerships and innovative financing.
People are impatient, people can’t wait.”