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SGV Connect

SGV Connect is Streetsblog Los Angeles' podcast that explores the people, places, projects and events that make up the changing face of transportation in the San Gabriel Valley. SGV Connect is hosted by Damien Newton and Kris Fortin. This feed also hosts SGV Connect's predecessor podcast, #DamienTalks.
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Now displaying: 2017
Feb 2, 2017

Today#DamienTalks with Habib Balian, the executive director of the Gold Line Foothill Construction Authority. Last week, the Construction Authority's Board of Directors approved a construction schedule that was characterized as both a milestone for the project and a delay from the original time schedule pending your news source.

But regardless of you point of view on the schedule, there is no denying that the extension of the Gold Line all the way to Montclair in the San Bernadino Valley is going to happen. It might take eight years, but groundbreaking is going to begin this October and over 90% of the funding for the project is already in place thanks to Measure M in Los Angeles County and Measure I in San Bernadino County.

Before we finish our talk, I give Balian a chance to respond to our most recent podcast with Wes Reutimann, the executive director of Bike SGV. Reutimann pointe out that demand for bike lockers is much higher than the lockers supplied at the recently completed Gold Line Foothill extensions. Balian offered verbal support for building more bike facilities and encouraged activists to continue the conversation on bike parking and access throughout the next several months.

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

Jan 20, 2017

We made it! It's inauguration day and the world hasn't ended. But even as the we face an uncertain future at the national level, there's still a lot of work to do locally. And in the San Gabriel Valley, 2017 promises to be another exciting year with "Gold Line Extension" being on the tip of everyone's tongue.

And while everyone is encouraged by the succesful launch of the Foothill Extension last year and the passage of Measure R; there's no need to let good be the enemy of "better." Today's guest, Wes Reutimann has some ideas that could make the next Gold Line extension the best Gold Line extension. Spoiler : It's less parking for cars and more parking for bicycles.

For it's part, the Foothill Extension Construction Authority has already built more bike parking than required by Metro for its last extension. A statement from the authority states:

"The Construction Authority put in significantly more bike parking (racks and lockers) than was required by the Metro criteria in 2010 when we began the project. In fact, we have reviewed their updated criteria for the next segment (which came out last year) and we put in more parking than is required by the new criteria as well.

The Construction Authority received a federal grant to study ways to improve bike, pedestrian and bus access to each of our stations and then was able to use about $1 million to augment the plans for each station to implement the recommendations. That allowed us to put in the additional bike spaces.

As you know, we turned the line over to Metro in September 2015. We have heard that bike parking is not full; but that may be old information."

At the request of Bike SGV, Metro put together some data on bike parking at existing Gold Line Foothill stations. That data can be found on Streetsblog Los Angeles. 

#DamienTalks is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

 

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