I find it suspicious as well. Nowadays it is really hard to elect a person because we can see our economy’s status these past few years.
News
LA EventsTop PicksSubmit an EventEvents NewsletterGet MobileEntertainment AdsTicketsArtopiaTacolandia
LA MusicMusic BlogHenry RollinsConcert CalendarLA NightlifeSubmit an EventMusic NewsletterGet MobileMusic Ads
Measure J Transit Tax -- Too Soon?
'Temporary' hike would last to 2068, after most current voters are dead
Zane argues that the bus cuts have more to do with the recession, and that Measure R and J include subsidies for bus operations.
But the Bus Riders Union says the MTA took the Measure R money, touted its support for buses, then pulled a bait and switch, chopping out 1 million hours of bus service that hit the poor and working class hard.
Meanwhile, the Beverly Hills Unified School District opposes the Purple Line Westside Extension because the Metro board dropped its tentative route and adopted an alternate route that runs directly under Beverly Hills High School, interfering with the school's expansion plans.
"This is the m.o. of the MTA," says Brian Goldberg, president of Beverly Hills Unified, "to run roughshod over people and to benefit wealthy development firms."
Many pouring big bucks into Measure J are developers who stand to profit from the Purple Line Westside Extension because it could feed people into their skyscrapers and malls. Global mall giant Westfield has donated $100,000 to the campaign. Other major funding came from Eli Broad and the Anschutz Entertainment Group.
"Those that are interested in investing in traffic relief should absolutely be participants in this campaign," says Matt Szabo, a policy adviser to Villaraigosa during his many trips to Washington, who is now running for the open City Council District 13 seat.
But County Supervisor Michael Antonovich questions the very premise of the proposed tax. Measure J money is to be divvied up according to the same Westside-centric formula as Measure R, Antonovich says, leaving many of this vast county's 9.9 million residents with public transit scraps.
Los Angeles, for example, gets about 35 percent of Measure R funds from the Metro board, but northern L.A. County, which includes the dense and fast-growing San Gabriel Valley, gets only about 5 percent.
"When you lock in sales taxes too long, you can't address needs that change on you," says Antonovich transportation deputy Michael Cano. "This would be a 60-year commitment to formulas and categories — created in 2008."
For Cano, "Measure J is really all about the subway" to L.A.'s Westside. "It's, 'How do you get the subway built as fast as possible and call it a 'regional' package?' "
The Westside subway has suffered major PR problems since voters approved Measure R. Metro's 2010 Environmental Impact Report revealed that officials had mislead the public by selling the subway as "congestion relief." In fact, it won't relieve congestion one iota, creating a less than 1 percent drop in cars on jammed nearby arterials and freeways. Its daily ridership of 46,000 is expected to be heavily comprised of bus-system refugees.
Zane says it's unfair to look at the subway in isolation: It's really a multilayered system combined with land-use policies that favor more density along the rail lines, plus the effects of rising gas prices, that will force people to use public transit.
When those things align, Zane says, L.A. residents will have an incentive to stop driving.
The idea behind "smart growth" championed by Zane and Villaraigosa is that if you allow dense zoning in the areas through which rail lines run, L.A. will grow in a way that's environmentally sustainable.
"It's a lie," says USC professor James Moore, "the idea that once you build out the rail system, it will reconfigure the land-use system."
Because jobs in Los Angeles are so spread out — only 2 percent of the workforce is based downtown, for instance — the city is uniquely inhospitable to subways and light rail, which aren't as flexible as a car or bus.
"At least you can reconfigure bus routes," Moore says.
Views such as Moore's have Metro worried. A two-thirds Yes vote is needed on Nov. 6 to extend the tax to 2068. Metro spokesman Marc Littman calls many of Moore's claims "horseshit," and says an effective system will include everything.
"This is an integrated transit system," Littman says. "You can't just say, 'bus vs. rail.' "
A poll by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin, Metz & Associates showed that 68 percent of voters would vote for Measure J.
Moore can't help but marvel at the fact that more people support public transportation than actually use it. "I'm guessing they think that rail will free up the freeway for them — because their neighbor will use it."3
8 comments
What makes a great city?
A great city, is its healthy citizens? Plenty of jobs? A well-educated population? Or is it beautiful parks, a low-crime rate, and affordable transportation?
A great city is some, any, or all of those things and more. Cities are every one unique. So what constitutes a great city depends entirely on the city in question and the values of its residents. And that’s why many of the participants of Global Innovation Outlook deep dive in Los Angeles advocated starting from the bottom and working up when going about building smarter cities.
“The questions that each city has to answer are these: How does leadership and management tap into the values of their communities? Do they have the systems and structures needed to translate those values into metrics that represent what people want? And are they able to then measure their progress towards those goals?” said S, a Senior Managing Director at Tech, a non-profit organization that provides young teachers in disadvantaged school districts.
Taylor was not alone in this approach. The discussion featured experts in everything from urban planning and management to health care. It included futurists, urbanites, and journalists; academics, educators, and technologists. And many of them agreed on the need for some kind of system for urban change that is adaptable, specific to each particular city, and informed by the residents of that city.
Here are a few salient quotes from the day around this idea:
“You have to go back down to the bottom,” said one participant. “You have to be able to tailor your solutions, because what’s good for one city might be catastrophic to another. And the system must govern toward that vision, but be designed for rapid, incremental change and response to things we cannot possibly predict.”
And:
“We are trying to plan a quality of life and an urban experience for people that we don’t even know yet, our future generations,” said M, Director of Industry. “Already my kids interact with each other and their schools in ways that I don’t understand.”
And finally:
“We know that more planning does not necessarily help you succeed,” said another participant. “In fact, the more you plan, the greater the cost of failure. So let’s have a thousand little failures that make up a collective, long-term success.”
Throughout the day, much of this thinking was directed towards the subject of education. There was little disagreement among those in the room that urban schools are part of the foundation of a smarter city. And the philosophies above have direct relevance in how to approach improvement of city schools.
“You can define and measure an educated city in a number of ways,” said T. “Maybe it is narrowing the gaps between the best and worst education level. Or maybe it’s the percentage of people that go to an Ivy League school. But you have to be careful which metrics you choose, because those two things are very, very different. So where you start from shapes what information you’re going to gather and what you will do with it.”
At least one metric that most people in the room felt was important was the level of integration city schools had with their communities. For example, Oakland’s school system has its students addressing climate change by going out into the community and performing energy audits around the city. This is just one example of how educational curriculum can intersect with other urban systems, in this case energy and utilities, and make the school system a more integral part of a community. This enables the schools to improve the community, and makes the community more inclined to support the schools.
While it may be true that no two cities are alike, there are plenty of lessons to be learned from examples like these. And when the values of the community are taken into account, a vision is created, and progress is measured, smarter cities are possible, one small step at a time.
I am voting no on Measure J and for very good reasons. Measure J would only mean more money that Metro will use to support its own greed, self interest and financial gain. Metro has a history of doing that and even after they made promises to the voters the last time, Metro went and turned their backs on them. We have already given Metro a blank check because of Measure R. We have not seen the advances in transportation since then, and there is no reason to think that Metro will keep its word and focus on doing what is right. Wake up and look at Metro for what it is and the progress it has not made. The only tunnels and roads that Metro is interested in are the ones that lead to the bank. Believe me, Metro is not interested in your community or you. To give them even more money and another 30 years to 2069 would be insane and is the same as putting a rope around our own necks. Think about that. We all know what Metro wants to do in Beverly Hills, Pasadena and other places. Do you really want to support their efforts and agendas both now and in the future? That is exactly what you will do if you vote yes on Measure J. I care about the future of Los Angeles. I also care and worry about what our children and grandchildren will have to deal with in the years to come. The years leading to 2069 are too far ahead for us to be spending money on something that others will eventually have to pay for. That would be unfair and wrong. Don't act the way Metro wants you to. Do the right thing. Vote no on Measure J.
George Vreeland Hill
Beverly Hills
The Congress of Racial Equality of California (CORE-CA) started the joning of these communities and organizations coming together about 1.5 years ago. It originally started with the Crenshaw Community, East L.A., Boyle Heights, and in the San Fernando Valley. Working with the Crenshaw Subway Coalition we studied both the "Crenshaw Corridor" and the "Subway to the Sea" EIR. There is no problem completing the "Crenshaw Corridor" underground as the ground there, according to their own EIR, is clean with no problems. The same is not true for the "Subway to the Sea." The methane is 1,000 times more than they have dealt with before, according to their EIR. There is the very dangerous hydreogen sulfide (H2S). H2S turns to sulphuric acid when exposed to water. As a result of this there are necessary changes which are not in the budget but are in the EIR which will make for a $10 billion overrun on the "Subway to the Sea." This has been verified to us in private by three L.A. City Council people. If they know all the players know.
Also, they are bribing other communities who will receive no service but pay the "PERMATAX" with minor funds for their streets and other transportation projects. Who knows what the needs will be until 2069? There will be no ability in the future to build other projects as all the money will already be taken.
Why not more clean busses whose routes can be easily modified concerning the actual needs at the time. The people who really need this transportation are those who will not be served as they are in the inner city areas. The "Bus Riders Union" was absolutely correct when they opposed "Measure R" as their prediction on what would happen to bus service has cone true. So what is the sense of cutting back dramatically on bus service and raising fares? Just a big scam on the public again.
When we saw, at MTA, Beverly Hills being told where to go we knew that MTA did not care about anyone except their wealthy devoluper friends. as a result of this the newly organizing coalition finished forming. You can only beat the devil by joining together against the common enemy. that common enemy to the people is MTA. The regular citizen will pay and the 1/10 of 1% will profit handsomely. Has this not become the common theme lately? think about the robbery by Wall street in the financial crash. The people lose and the "Banksters" win again. Here they go again.
THIS MUST STOP. VOTE NO ON MEASURE J.
Want to see what come out of the Measure J piñata? hint* ITS NOT CANDY -http://youtu.be/MuEmoiOLGEo
Now Trending
Browse Voice Nation
-
Voice Places
Find everything you're looking for in your city
-
Happy Hour App
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
-
Daily Deals
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
-
Best Of...
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city
Join
Log In
- Profile
- Newsletters
- Mobile
- Logout
-
Publishing:
ONOFF
