EARTHQUAKE: THE LONG ROAD BACK : Antelope, Santa Clarita Valley Leaders Share Relief Proposals

Reeling from the economic aftershocks of last week’s earthquake, civic leaders from the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys met Tuesday to trade ideas on how to unclog transportation routes and help local commuters hang onto their jobs.

Lancaster, Palmdale and Santa Clarita were cut off from Los Angeles when the quake damaged the Golden State and Antelope Valley freeways, the two main roads used by thousands of commuters and truck drivers in the north county.

Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford, who chaired the meeting in Palmdale City Hall, said it was important for the cities and local business leaders to share their relief proposals. Among the suggestions raised at the meeting were redirecting trucks away from the damaged freeways, supporting new commuter routes and setting up new telecommuting centers.

“The whole point here is that as a region, it’s good for us to brainstorm,” Ledford said. “Let’s plan where we want to go from here.”

Because full repairs to the Antelope Valley Freeway may take a year to complete, some local leaders urged the cities to seek funds to widen or improve other roads leading to Los Angeles.

“We can’t be looking at a year of gridlock through that bottleneck,” said Lancaster Mayor Arnie Rodio. “It’s not good enough to sit here and wait for that freeway to be put back together.”

The alternate routes in and out of the Antelope Valley that need improvement include California 138 between Palmdale and San Bernardino County, and Angeles Crest Highway, a winding road through the San Gabriel Mountains, Rodio said.

The civic leaders praised the prompt establishment of Metrolink commuter train service to Palmdale and Lancaster. But several said the steep ticket price--$208 for a monthly pass--poses a hardship for many local commuters.

To keep commuters off the trains and highways altogether, city and county officials said they are trying to set up new telecommuting centers, where Los Angeles area workers could use computers and telephone lines to do their jobs from a desk in the Antelope Valley.