Metro Gold Line Important Meeting Oct 22nd

[Lester]

Forwarding Information:

Don’t Let Metro Think You've Given Up

Thursday October 22, 2009:

Metro Board to Vote on Foothill Extension Funding!

Your Help Means More Now Than Ever

Wednesday’s Metro Planning and Programming Committee gave us our first glimpse of what to expect at next Thursday’s Metro Board Meeting when the Board will consider the Long Range Transportation Plan. Metro is still planning to delay the Foothill Extension by four years from operating in 2013 to 2017!

So many of you over the last two years have told us countless stories about why you need Foothill Extension service from Pasadena to Azusa as soon as possible. Your support means more now than ever.

The Construction Authority is ready to break ground in June 2010, so why the wait? Metro has collected an increase in your sales tax dollars for months now, so why the delay?

These are questions you can ask Metro between now and next Thursday and you deserve answers.

Here is what you can do:



Join your fellow I Will Ride supporters and attend next Thursday’s Metro Board Meeting – Thursday, Oct. 22, 2009 at 9 a.m. at Metro Headquarters. Click here to RSVP. Let us know if you need transportation.

Send an e-mail to the Metro Board of Directors by visiting www.iwillride.org/email.html. You can send the e-mail direct to all 13 Board Members with one easy click.

Let’s make sure the Metro Board knows that a four year delay is not acceptable to the San Gabriel Valley.



Questions? E-mail [e-mail], call [phone], or visit www.iwillride.org

[Lester]

Forwarding a letter from 10/23:

Yesterday, the Metro Board of Directors approved the Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), committing the agency to fund construction of Foothill Extension Phase 2A to Azusa as well as complete the line to Claremont!

This victory stands as a testament to the efforts of Foothill Extension supporters who attended Metro Board meetings month after month, speaking on behalf of the San Gabriel Valley and sending letters and emails to board members to make sure this project was not forgotten. For your continued efforts, we sincerely thank you. Without your enthusiasm and commitment, we could not have reached this point.

The Metro Board approved the LRTP unanimously, following the inclusion of a variety of amendments that provided "regional rationality and equity" (in their words) to the plan. With these amendments, the adopted plan resolves many of the concerns we had with the draft plan. It made the following changes in support of the Foothill Extension:



Confirmed that the agency intends to complete the line to Claremont

Committed to operating the line to Azusa and Claremont as soon as each segment is built

Identified it as one of three first priority projects (along with the Crenshaw line and I-5 Highway improvements) for which the agency will pursue additional funding (outside federal New Starts) to complete the project (we need approximately $320 million to complete the line to Claremont)

Over the next few weeks, we will work out how these important changes in the LRTP influence our plans to complete the line to Azusa in 2013. We look forward to continuing to work with Metro Board Chairman Ara Najarian to reach our common goal of having our ground breaking in June 2010!

Sincerely,

I Will Ride Outreach Team
www.iwillride.org