Get L.A. Moving Plan

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Get L.A. Moving Plan www.GetLAMoving.com (A
Working Proposal) Transit Coalition Monthly
Meeting 23 January 2007 Presentation by Damien
Goodmon
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LA County Rail Transit 2011

• Heavy Rail
• Red ( Purple) Green
• Light Rail
• Blue, Gold Expo/Aqua
• Commuter Rail
• Metrolink

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LA County Rail Transit 2025
?
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Background Boston Square System

• The Square
• Center of the community
• - Events/festivals
• Job center
• Outdoor shopping dining
• Filled with pedestrian activity
• Allows small businesses to compete with chains

• Harvard Square (Cambridge, MA)

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Background Boston Square System

• MBTA (T)
• The subway station was the center of the bus
  system for the local area
• Hub and Spoke
• Train heart
• Bus veins

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Initial Research

• MTA Library
• Environmental Impact Reports
• Major Investment Studies
• MTA Long Range Transportation Plans
• SCAG Regional Transportation Plans
• Predecessor Rail Systems P.E. LARy
• Transit Advocates
• Transit Coalition
• Skyscraper Page Forum
• Sierra Club
• Media
• Politicians Statements

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Consensus

• Research revealed general agreement on need
  placement of rapid transit
• No concrete plan to build a system to get L.A.
  moving

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Factors MTA Transit Service Policy

• Daily Boardings Greater Than 50K/day 100 Grade
  Separation
• Station Spacing
• Urban Rail Average 1 per mile
• Travel time
• 30 to 34 miles/hr
• Commuter Rail

• 3rd/Vermont

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Factors Current Transit Usage

• Bus Ridership
• Rapid Bus Service
• Major Transit Corridors
• Rapid Bus Stations

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Factors Projected Traffic Increases

• FREEWAY SPEEDS
• Red Less than 20 mph
• Yellow 20-35 mph
• Blue Greater than 35 mph

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Factors Population Density

• Projected 2030

• Pop. Growth 3-6 million new Angelinos / Southern
  Californians by 2020

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Factors Employment Density

• Projected 2030

• Job centers expected to generally remain in place

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Factors Transit Dependency

• A census tract is designated transit dependent
  when according to 2000 census
• 13.5 or more households do not own a car.
• 21.7 or more households include individuals 65
  or older, and less than 34.1 have 2 cars, and
  less than 17.1 have 3 or more cars.
• 17.6 or more of the households have income of
  15,000 or less (in 1999 dollars).

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Factors Destinations

• Transportation centers, Tourist attractions,
  Malls, Museums, Stadiums, Entertainment
  districts, Schools

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• 85 of the Lines are Unoriginal
• One canvass Build a system not lines
• Proposal as of January 2007
• Digital Production by Steve Boland and Jason Law

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Get L.A. Moving System Stats

• Metro Rail
• 12 Lines
• 344 Stations
• 387 Total Miles of Revenue Track
• 309 Miles of New Track
• Metrolink Lines
• 10 Lines
• 30 Metrolink Stations (LA County)
• 86.8 Miles of New Track

• Hollywood/Highland Station

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Getting It Built Organization

• Divide Map Along Metro Sector Boundaries
• San Fernando, Westside-Central, South Bay,
  Gateway, San Gabriel
• 2011 System will have branches to build from in
  all sectors
• Complete projects within boundaries by uniform
  date
• Joint Powers Authorities or divisions of larger
  construction authority
• JPA advantages More flexibility (state laws)
  quicker response to construction challenges
• Division advantages Design consistency, central
  project management improved overall coordination

• Metros Current
• Planning Districts/Sectors

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Getting It Built Aggressive Schedule

• 13 Year Deadline
• Simultaneous Investment
• First 3 years
• Develop bureaucracy(ies)
• Finalize EIR or begin design or construction of
  projects with up-to-date studies
• Train workforce
• Ensuing 10 years
• All projects in EIR, Design or Build stage
• Involve the entire county throughout the process
• M.O.S./Phased Openings

• Example Westside-Central JPA/Division
• Total 79.2 miles of new rail

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Getting It Built Tunneling

• Community preferred
• Significantly less environmental impacts during
  construction and operation
• Permits longer construction workday if necessary
  (16-22 hours)
• Tunneling has become cost competitive (capital)
• At-grade option not as attractive
• More expensive (real estate acquisition, longer
  construction schedules, utility relocation, etc.)
  
• Metro Transit Service Policy requires route
  serving 50K/day to be 100 grade separated
• Elevated rail nearly as expensive as subway
• Drastic improvements in tunneling technology
• Single-bore twin track instead of twin tunnel
• One tunnel boring machine 3 miles/yr
• 11 T.B.M.s Excavate 33 miles/yr
• Not limited to corridor
• Diversions possible
• GLAM 99 on streets highways
• Shallow Tunneling
• Allows open air (trench) stations

50 diameter tunnel boring machine (Madrid)
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Getting It Built Stations

• D.C. Metro Open Cut Station

• Boring Shallow Tunnels with Open-cut/Open-air/Tren
  ch Stations
• Trench stations significantly cheaper than
  cut-and-cover Stations
• Open-cut stations 15-25 million each
• Red line MOS-3 (Opened 2000 Hollywood/Highland
  to North Hollywood)
• Cut-and-cover stations 61-78 million each
• Tunnels 40-45 mil/mile
• Possible placement of Crenshaw Line Leimert Park
  open-cut station (Leimert/Vernon)

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Getting It Built Financing

• Capital Cost 31-38B
• Economy of Scale
• Subway 100-125 million/mile
• At-grade 40-60 million/mile
• 20 Billion County Bond
• Bond repayment 1.3 billion/year
• 06 LA County budget 21 billion (likely 24B by
  10)
• State Federal Matches
• Several projects would be 1 urban rail priority
  in the country and 1 transportation priority in
  the state
• Need to identify additional funding sources

• 2010 County Budget
• 2023 County Budget

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Case Study Beijing

• Underground Expansion Plans
• Jan 2007 71 miles (33 miles of subway)
• 2010 169 miles
• 2020 348 miles
• Proves it is physically possible to build a
  substantial amount of subway tunnels quickly

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Case Study Madrid

• Many cities around the world desperately need
  new metro lines, but they cannot afford to build
  them at an estimated 300 million to 400
  million per mile, nor be forced to wait a dozen
  years for the lines to become reality. The truth
  is these estimates of cost and time are simply
  wrong. In Madrid, with all humbleness, we have
  now proved it on more than one occasion.
• - Madrid Metro President Manuel Melis

• 95 - 99 Subway Expansion
• 23 miles at 70 million/mile
• 99 - 03 Subway Expansion
• 36 miles at 85 million/mile
• Included rolling stock and yard
• 03-07 Subway Expansion
• 33 miles
• Spain Worlds 8th largest economy, European
  Union country, union labor, stringent
  environmental safety standards

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Case Study Madrid

• Economy of scale
• Sizeable but functional stations
• Single-bore (31 diameter), twin-track tunnels
• 10 T.B.M.s currently in operation
• Simultaneous investment
• Divide project into small manageable segments
• Civil contracts plus two specialist consultants
  contracts for quality control technical
  assistance
• Fixed price with a bill of quantities

• Architectural and civil engineering project
  management the responsibility of a small group of
  engineers employed by government
• 99 - 03 Expansion 3 chiefs engineers and 6
  associates
• Designer exclusion from construction
• Time is money both to engineers/contractors and
  system patrons
• Extensive monitoring of conditions around
  worksite
• Political leaders respond to construction
  concerns within 24 hours

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Case Study Los Angeles

• Mayors Sept. 8 Meeting
• 13-mile Wilshire subway construction to
  operation in 18 months
• 8 - 10 T.B.M.s simultaneously excavating twin
  tunnels
• Requires capital up front
• Mayor Currently polling a local bond to complete
  local transit projects

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Current State NIMBY to IMBYF

• NIMBY Not in my backyard
• IMBYF In my backyard first
• Lack of large dedicated funding source forces LA
  County politicians and transit advocates to
  compete against one another instead of combine
  their powerful forces to work together
• Wastes time and resources necessary to
  effectively lobby for matching funds state,
  federal private
• Short phases take too long to complete
• Wilshire Subway Who wants to wait 20 years?
• Term-limited politicians and voters have no
  confidence rail expansion will directly benefit
  them
• Direct result of piecemeal planning
• Shared Burden Shared Benefit
• Christmas tree legislation/Coalition building
  The more stakeholders invested in the success of
  the system the greater the commitment to its
  completion

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Angelinos Want A Solution

• Crises Mobility, Gas Prices, Environment,
  Terrorism
• Mass transit is the solution
• Poll 60 of county voters are willing to
  increase taxes for rail expansion projects
• Issues are not partisan impact everyone
• Potential to create a truly widespread coalition
• Current efforts to lower threshold from 2/3rds to
  3/5ths or 55

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LA Economy Requires a Solution

• The high cost of traffic/personal autos
• Lost income
• Goods movement
• Companies have to increase salaries to attract
  the skilled workers willing to endure the commute
• Lost time with families and friends
• Health impacts
• The housing crisis
• 3 - 6 million more Angelinos by 2020 where are
  they going to live?
• Saturate marketplace with housing
• Must increase density where appropriate without
  sacrificing mobility
• The high cost of sprawl
• Infrastructure civil social services

• D.C. Metro Silver Springs station before and
  after

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Transit Villages/Smart Growth

• Transform our streets currently lined with
  single-use land and single-story buildings into
  walkable, bikeable, livable and enjoyable
  communities
• Elegantly increase density where appropriate
• Create and cultivate thriving local economies and
  small businesses
• Connect our communities and major destinations
  (not just intersections)
• Lifecycle cost versus Capital cost
• Create transit-oriented development not just
  transit-proximate development

Los Angeles General Plan (1974)

• While preserving single-family home neighborhoods
• Arlington County, VA (EPA Smart Growth award)

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We are the Vehicle for Change

• Support is going to come from the grassroots
• It takes courage, commitment and long-term vision
  not currently widespread among politicians
• Up to average Joe Jane Citizen to spark the
  conversation about a regional master plan and
  educate the electorate about its importance
• We must continue working together to maximize our
  limited resources of time and energy, and inspire
  average citizens to join the effort
• There are many steps in this journey
• Preserving and increasing mass transit
  operational funding, 1998 Prop. A ban, Robbins
  law, etc.

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Los Angeles Is A World City

• Learn from fellow world citys successes and
  challenges
• London
• Tokyo
• New York
• Paris
• (Curitibas not on the list of world cities)

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City of Dreams/Can Do Country

• L.A. voters responded to the school overcrowding
  crisis with 19.2 billion in bonds and now
  students that attended elementary schools that
  were busting at the seams when the bonds were
  passed have a completely new choice of brand-new
  first class high schools to attend
• We have the capacity - Lets create the plan -
  LETS GET L.A. MOVING!