Glendale Seeks Funds for Mass Transit Projects

Glendale is seeking $185,000 in transportation tax money to push forward with plans to develop one of the most far-reaching mass transit systems in Southern California.

The City Council on Tuesday voted to request allocations of Proposition A funds from the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission for three transit projects: maintenance of the city’s historic train station, study of a light-rail system and a feasibility study on a proposed second transit center in the Grand Central industrial area.

The city has already pledged to spend its own money to match the tax funds. The proposals could lead to implementation of a regional mass transit system within two years.

While the funds requested would come from the city’s share of local transportation taxes, approval must still be granted by the county commission.

“Politically, it behooves them to listen to us,” said Councilman Carl Raggio, chairman of a tri-city committee working to develop a mass transit system serving Pasadena, Glendale and Burbank. “We’re the first regional coalition proposed.”

The three projects proposed are:

* An added $15,000 for the cost of utilities and routine maintenance at the Southern Pacific train depot, which the city purchased in 1989 and plans to develop into a transit center.

* A request for $150,000 to fund half the cost of an environmental study of a proposed light-rail system from Los Angeles to the train depot at 400 W. Cerritos Ave. in south Glendale.

* A request for $20,000 to study the feasibility and cost of developing a second transit station in the rapidly expanding employment center in the Grand Central industrial area.

All of the proposals are expected to tie into an integrated network of public train, bus and shuttle services from outlying areas into the downtown Glendale area.