All Signs Point East for the Gold Line, but Which East?
Photo by tobo via Flickr
Which side of the Gold Line tracks do you live on? Southsiders (below the 10) better be representing because Northsiders are fighting hard for their piece of the cake too.
Metro's Gold Line currently goes from Union Station in downtown to Sierra Madre, east of Pasadena. Metro is currently extending the Gold Line from Union Station southeast through Little Tokyo into East LA and is slated to open in late 2009.
Now, Metro is considering a southeast extension towards San Bernadino or Whittier and will be holding public meetings in April according to StreetsBlogLA. This comes as politicians from the other side of the Gold Line are begging for funding that could be matched federally so the Gold Line can go further east from the Pasadena area to Montclair. "All we are asking is for a half-percent of MTA's total capital budget and inclusion in the long-range plan to allow us to leverage as much as $320 million in federal funds," Congresswoman Hilda Solis, D-El Monte said in the Pasadena Star News. If this not taken advantage of, Congressman Adam Schiff, D-Pasadena, says funding of the project could go "to another area of the state or country that is better organized or has more political will."
Of course, both options would be best, but that nasty funding problem is always an issue. Just look at the Green Line mess.