Category Archives: America Fast Forward

Sen. Schumer plugs elements of America Fast Forward last week

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As we’ve crossed the halfway point of 2011, Metro’s government relations staff are still plugging away and hoping to persuade Congress to make America Fast Forward [AFF] the law of the land.

AFF would provide government loans and other financing that would allow Metro to accelerate the construction of 12 Measure R transit projects. As things stand now, those projects would be built between now and 2038. With AFF, Metro is hoping to condense that timeline to the next decade or so.

The goal is to make AFF part of the next multiyear transportation spending bill, which is already two-plus years overdue. On the plus side, AFF continues to get some plugs from both sides of the aisle — including the following one from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York). Here’s the email from Metro CEO Art Leahy to staff:

Yesterday [last Thursday], key elements of America Fast Forward received a significant boost in Washington, D.C. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the third Ranking Senate Democrat and the Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee unveiled the Democratic Senate’s job creation plan that focuses primarily on “A Highway Bill that will put people back to work building critical infrastructure,” as well as creating a National Infrastructure Bank.

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Construction overview fact sheet now online for Westside Subway Extension

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The rendering shows temporary lane closures for initial excavation prior to installation of concrete decking.

I’ll cut right to the part of the new construction fact sheet for the Westside Subway Extension that will likely interest you most:

Construction Schedule

Construction timing for the Project is dependent upon how the funding package for the project comes together. Presuming that the environmental clearance process concludes in 2011 and funding is secured, final design and contractor selection processes would occur in 2012.

It is likely that early utility relocation work and removal of paleontological resources (fossils) below Wilshire Bl in the vicinity of the La Brea Tar Pits could start sometime in 2012, with heavier construction starting on tunnels and stations in 2013. If funding is secured to build the 9-mile extension all at the same time, construction along the entire alignment to the Westwood/VA Hospital could potentially be completed by 2022. In this case, several pairs of TBMs would be used, tunneling various segments of tunnel at the same time, with work proceeding on all stations simultaneously.

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America Fast Forward: Keeping Houston's light rail solution on track

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The rail component of the Metro Solutions plan. The first light rail line in downtown Houston opened in 2004.

This is the fifth story in our series examining how L.A. County’s 30/10 financing model — and its national counterpart America Fast Forward — could help other cities around the country.

A light rail car on Main Street in Houston. Photo by accent on eclectic, via Flickr.

Los Angeles’ image as the nation’s capital of cars and sprawl persists, despite its having among the highest number of transit riders in the country and dozens of dense, urban neighborhoods. There are almost certainly many other regions as dependent on private vehicles as L.A. and one of them is Harris County, Texas.

After all, it’s the home of Houston, a city that’s both the petroleum energy capital of America and less than half as densely populated as Los Angeles. It’s also a region that’s considering a third outer-belt highway bypass into undeveloped prairie lands, one that Infrastructurist skewered as a “highway to nowhere.”

But there’s a competing vision on the table for the future of Houston, the nation’s fourth most populous city. And this transit alternative vision was embraced by Houston-area residents in November 2003, when they approved a long-range transit plan to be implemented by Metro, the regional transit agency for Harris County. Light Rail Now described the measure’s passage accordingly:

Voters approved by 52% the Metro Solutions plan – including an immediate $640 million revenue bond measure for Metro, the transit agency, to undertake construction of 22 miles of rail transit, with both light rail (LRT) and regional “commuter”-type rail. The vote also authorizes 44 new bus routes, doubles HOV lanes, and extends Houston Metro’s participation in local road projects…The bonding program is part of a $7.5 billion regional transit plan which will build eventually 73 miles of rail transit. Metro will now seek federal matching funds for the new rail projects.

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Metro officials talk planning at TOD conference

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A 30-10 map on display at a Metro information table.

A 30-10 map (ca. 2010) on display at a Metro information table.

The Los Angeles Chapter of the Urban Land Institute held a conference in Pasadena on Thursday to discuss transit-oriented development in the greater-L.A. area.

The aim of the conference was to figure out a way to put more development around transit hubs. It’s a strategy embraced in many places to promote alternatives to driving and provide housing closer to jobs.

There is also evidence it’s already taking hold here in Los Angeles County. Thousands of units of new housing near transit have sprouted in North Hollywood, Hollywood, Koreatown, Long Beach, downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena in recent years. That said, there are many places along the Metro Rail system where there has been little or no development.

Metro played a big role at the conference because it’s involved in building transit-oriented developments on land it owns near rail and bus stops.

One panel’s topic was: “Where is the ‘T’ in TOD? What is the status of major projects in Los Angeles County.”

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Business and labor groups reaffirm support for America Fast Forward

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Fox and Hounds Daily this week published an editorial titled, “Putting American Workers and Businesses Back In the Fast Lane,” that makes a strong push for support of America Fast Forward.

The authors of the piece were Gary Toebben, President of the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, and Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor. Both smartly want to see Measure R transit projects built in the next decade instead of the next three decades.

Needless to say, business and labor don’t always agree on public policy issues. However, in Los Angeles they’ve come together to support investing in public transportation and creating jobs. And right now, the way to get that done is by getting all hands on deck in support of America Fast Forward, also known locally as the 30/10 plan (30 years of transit projects in 10 years — get it?).

The plan, which Toebben and Durazo call “a shining example of hope and collaboration,” would work the following way:

AFF calls for increasing and leveraging the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) to support the private sector in creating jobs now by building projects on a faster timeline…[meaning] that construction teams can get to work building a 21st century public transportation system today — not years from now.

As the piece notes, Congress is presently outlining its priorities for the next multi-year transportation bill, and Toebben and Durazo praise a bipartisan group of Senators — including California Sen. Barbara Boxer — for committing their support for expanding TIFIA and enshrining America Fast Forward in law.

So, check out the piece for yourself and let us know what you think.

SoCal transportation group says "thanks" to Congressional leaders for supporting America Fast Forward

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Mobility 21, a transportation advocacy group made up of Southern California stakeholders, have expressed thanks to a bipartisan group of Senators for developing a new transportation bill called  “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” or MAP-21.

One of the key components of MAP-21 is America Fast Forward (PDF) – an idea that started in Los Angeles as the 30/10 Initiative – a program designed to use federal dollars to support locally approved and funded projects (like Measure R projects).

Here’s the full press release from Mobility 21:

Southern California’s leaders applaud the bipartisan group of U.S. senators for outlining a new federal transportation program called “Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century” or MAP-21.

At its strategic planning meeting in Orange County, Calif., members of Mobility 21 – a bipartisan transportation advocacy group of business and government – specifically expressed their thanks to Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), Senator James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Senator David Vitter (R-La.) of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee for taking the necessary steps to improve transportation investment for America’s future. Mobility 21 represents seven counties and 21 million residents of Southern California. Mobility 21 also issued a call to move swiftly to pass MAP-21 incorporating these key provisions:

  • America Fast Forward – a program to stretch federal dollars for locally approved and funded transportation projects to take advantage of low construction costs and create hundreds of thousands of jobs at significant savings to American taxpayers. This adds funding to Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Investment Act (TIFIA) projects.
  • Breaking Down Barriers – a national initiative to expedite project delivery without sacrificing the environment or the rights of people to be heard which will accelerate the creation of more than 800,000 much-needed jobs across America.
  • Goods Movement – a strong, focused freight delivery program that efficiently moves goods throughout the nation and beyond. This would sustain nearly 1 million jobs in Southern California and an additional 2 million jobs nationwide.

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Former NYC traffic commissioner lauds America Fast Forward

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Over at the Engineering News Record, former New York City traffic commissioner Sam Schwartz took to his transportation blog to extol the benefits of America Fast Forward. A lot of the issues he touches on will be familiar to Source readers. Here’s an excerpt from the piece in which Schwartz discusses how AFF could forge a new — and perhaps more sustainable — relationship between the federal government and cities:

Essentially the idea is the same as the 30/10 method: the Fed would lend sizable sums upfront to local entities with dedicated revenue streams such as sales tax proceeds. The carrot for the taxpayers is the promise that transportation projects are completed in a timely manner, in some cases that could be years, rather than decades.

There’s a carrot for Congress too: according to America Fast Forward supporters, passing legislation to enact the program can put 920,000 Americans per year building our national infrastructure without contributing to the national debt.

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Minneapolis Post asks: Could America Fast Forward work for the Twin Cities?

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The Twin Cities Metrpolitan Council's 2030 Transitway Plan featuring commuter rail, light rail, bus rapid transit and improved bus corridors.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been running our ongoing series where we ask the question: How could America Fast Forward work for other cities around the country? Well, Minneapolis was definitely on our radar, but it looks like Minneapolis Post writer Steve Berg beat us to the punch.

In his story, Los Angeles tries to accelerate transit: Would it work here?, Berg takes a preliminary look at how federal loans and financing could support Minneapolis’ hope to greatly expand its rapid transit network.

A bus rapid transit station in downtown Minneapolis via Flickr user Payton Chung.

But before we delve into that question, some background: The Twin Cities region reached a population of 2.85 million in 2010, with most of the recent population growth happening in the suburbs, according to the most recent Census Bureau data [PDF].

The challenge for transportation planners in the region is to knit together these existing communities, while planning for future development in an era of increasing gas prices and decreasing vehicle miles traveled. The current transit system [PDF] provides a total of 218 transit routes, including a variety of fixed-route bus lines, one light rail line, one commuter rail line and an assortment of vanpool and paratransit services.

To support a goal of doubling transit ridership by 2030, five counties in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area approved a 1/4-cent sales tax increase to pay for a large expansion of “transitways” — bus rapid transit, light rail and other transit that runs in its own dedicated right-of-way. The plan calls for building a half-dozen new transitways on top of the existing network. Continue reading →

America Fast Forward and FrontLines: Could 30/10 work for Salt Lake City?

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Existing transit network with planned extensions in dark blue and red.

Existing Utah Transit Authority transit network with planned extensions in dark blue and red.

This is the second story in our series examining how L.A. County’s 30/10 financing model could help other cities around the country.

On the eve of the 21st Century, the citizens of Salt Lake City cut the ribbon on their first light rail project, a 15-mile line connecting downtown to the city of Sandy to the south. The Salt Lake metro area was already booming and the 2002 Winter Olympics were soon coming to town.

From 2000 to 2009 the population of Salt Lake County grew over 15 percent and its southern neighbor Utah County grew a whopping 48 percent. Compare those to 3.4 percent for Los Angeles County. And despite the national economic downturn, New Geography notes, “one of the country’s largest downtown development projects is taking shape in Salt Lake City. The city’s center displays a landscape of cranes, cement-mixers and hard-hats — something all too rare in these tough times.”

The side effect of that growth — representing an additional 320,000 residents — is more people traveling around the region and more air pollution. Los Angeles and Salt Lake City are geographically kindred spirits. Both are surrounded by majestic, but smog-trapping mountains, and it usually takes a good storm to clean the air.

A light rail train bound for Sandy in the Salt Lake City area. Photo by vxla, via Flickr.

By 2006, residents had embraced the light rail line to the tune of 40,000 daily boardings. So, rather than tie their collective fate to ever-crowding freeways, residents voted that year to increase their local sales tax to pay for a dramatic expansion of commuter and light rail in the region.

FrontLines 2015, as the project is known, entails five new lines — four are light rail and one commuter rail — covering 70 miles. The four light rail lines are supposed to open by 2015 and two could debut as early as this August. Even when 2015 rolls around, the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) won’t be done with its building program.

According to Gerry Carpenter, UTA Media Relations officer, once the initial commuter and light rail system is in place, the key will be increasing connections from homes and jobs to train stations. The UTA already has a list of bus rapid transit and streetcar projects, as well as bus enhancements, that it would like to roll out. Rough estimates suggest those additional 20 or so projects could cost a total of $3 billion.

The good news for the UTA is that the 2006 sales tax increase does not sunset (by contrast, the Measure R sales tax increase approved by voters here is scheduled to expire in July 2039). However, a substantial portion of that revenue source will be tied up in paying for FrontLines 2015.

But what if there were a way to borrow cheaply against those future revenues, so that those crucial projects could move forward right away? So that Utahans can immediately begin to reap the benefits of a clean and convenient transit system serving the all reaches of the Salt Lake metro area.

 

Light rail in the Salt Lake City basin. Photo by Nancy White, via Flickr.

That’s basically the essence of Los Angeles County’s 30/10 Program and its national counterpart, America Fast Forward: reward those cities that have taxed themselves by giving them expanded access to federal loan programs. Such loans make it possible for local areas to get the money they need to build now — before construction costs increase — and then use the sales tax revenues to pay off the loans over time.

Already, Salt Lake and Utah County residents are leading the way on local transportation investment, literally remaking a metro area that like many others in the Western U.S. has seen dramatic growth — but growth tied to the automobile. As Congress considers ways to finance the next six-year surface transportation bill that could make America Fast Forward possible, here’s hoping that legislators get inspired by the innovative solutions that local governments are spearheading.

Previously in this series: Denver’s efforts to rapidly add light rail, commuter rail and busways.

Could the 30/10 Initiative work for the Denver area and other regions?

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The FasTracks program would create 119 miles of rail connecting Denver and its surrounding communities.

As many of you already know, Metro is pursuing federal legislation to speed up construction of Measure R projects. The plan as originally conceived was called the 30/10 Initiative — meaning it seeks to build 30 years of Measure R projects in 10 years with the use of federal loans and other financing.

Some members of Congress have shown an interest in such a plan. So have many groups around the country, including the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. That’s the reason that Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has lately taken to calling the plan “America Fast Forward.”

The national interest is because 30/10 is not just a plan to help Los Angeles County. It could help transit agencies around the country that have raised local funds but need help getting enough money to actually begin construction of projects.

A light rail stop in downtown Denver. Photo by writRHET, via Flickr.

With that in mind, this is the first in a series of posts about other regions that are trying — much like Metro — to expand their transit systems. We’re going to start in Colorado, where there are some striking similarities to efforts to fully realize Measure R here.

On Election Day in November 2004, Denver-area voters approved a $4.7-billion investment in their mobility and future called FasTracks.

At the time, the metropolitan area was sprawling along the Front Range of the Rockies and freeways were becoming increasingly congested. Air pollution was getting worse too, fouling the very reason so many have chosen to live in Colorado. In 1995, a new airport opened on the prairie 25 miles east of the city center, requiring a long drive to reach for residents and visitors alike.

FasTracks was an attempt to dramatically revamp how the region got around. The plan — at the time the largest in America — was to add 119 miles of light rail, commuter rail and busways by 2017 to link otherwise disconnected suburbs to one another and to downtown Denver. And do it in 12 years.

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