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San Fernando Valley seeking fair share of transit funding
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In a file photo, an Orange Line Metro bus stops at Warner Center.
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LA MTA
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Officials in the San Fernando Valley are holding a forum Thursday night in an effort to push for more transit in the area as a tax measure to fund transportation heads for the November ballot.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority is gearing up to place another sales tax increase before voters in the general election. The ballot measure could raise up to $120 billion over 40 years to fund more rail projects, expanded bus service and updates to roads and freeways.
State Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian and L.A. City Councilman Paul Krekorian are co-hosting the forum with Metro to discuss projects in the valley that could be part of the ballot measure. They include:
- Converting the Orange Line rapid bus into light rail.
- Adding a second light rail line along the eastern San Fernando Valley parallel to Van Nuys Boulevard.
- Building a tunnel at Sepulveda Pass beneath the 405 freeway for a rail line and toll road.
San Fernando Valley is home to about 15 percent of L.A. County's residents, but many officials and community members have complained the area didn't get enough out of Measure R. That's the half cent sales tax that passed in 2008, funding the extension of the Gold and Expo Lines and a portion of the Purple Line "Subway to the Sea."
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Metro has been gathering comment from around the county to craft a ballot measure that has the best chance of securing the two-thirds approval from voters necessary to pass.
A similar sales tax initiative, Measure J, failed to pass in 2012, coming up short by a thin margin.
The San Fernando Valley mass transit forum will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at this location:
Los Angeles Valley College
Monarch Hall in the Campus Center
5800 Fulton Avenue
Valley Glen, CA 91401
Those who plan to attend can RSVP on Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian's website.
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