Senator Boxer held hearings yesterday in her Environment and Public Works Committee to explore innovative ways for the federal government to support local transportation projects and put Californians back to work.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa testified before the committee in support of the ‘30-in-10′ program proposed in Los Angeles that would borrow from the federal government to speed transportation projects that have already been approved by voters.
In 2008, Los Angeles voters went to the polls and overwhelmingly approved a half-cent sales tax increase to fund a major 30-year project to dramatically expand the local rail system. As the Wall Street Journal explained:
Three decades is a long time to wait for a train. So Los Angeles is asking the federal government for help in borrowing $9 billion to speed construction of 12 new mass-transit rail lines.
With Washington’s backing, city officials say they could make a dramatic improvement to public transportation in just 10 years—including a dreamy-sounding Subway to the Sea—after decades of stalled attempts to equip the sprawling metro area with a comprehensive public-transportation system.
If the plan succeeds, it could create a novel way to accelerate big locally funded projects around the country.
If the funding can be worked out, it would be beneficial in several ways. Not only would speeding the project be helpful in its own right, but it would get more Californians back to work in their communities faster, the top priority for Senator Boxer.
Just a few weeks ago, Senator Boxer joined Mayor Villaraigosa and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in Los Angeles to announce new Recovery Act funding for California transportation projects. She was also able to discuss the 30-in-10 proposal, as Streetsblog reported:
“I hear you. I get it. I’m all over it.” With those ten words, Boxer embraced local efforts to complete all Measure R transit projects within the next 10 years and turned Denny Zane and the Move L.A. Coalition into the most influential transit group in Southern California.
Zane was the central figure in creating and promoting L.A.’s “30 in 10″ plan, most recently at Friday’s first press event. Boxer noted that there are some local laws already on the books that could help move projects faster than Measure R’s current 30-year timetable, and that if other laws need to be changed, she would do all she could to help make those changes.
Californians throughout the state have signaled their commitment to putting people to work on these types of transportation projects. The testimony from Mayor Villaraigosa today to Senator Boxer’s committee is an important step to explore new possible avenues for federal, state and local collaboration to generate jobs and keep California moving forward.