Can Hal Move the MTA Forward?

Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson’s appointment to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s governing board restores a Valley perspective to a transit agency whose high-profile goofs and questionable management have earned it scorn from Woodland Hills to Pacoima.

That distrust grew last month, after Northridge Realtor Mel Wilson was replaced on the 13-member board--leaving the city of Los Angeles’ four-person delegation to the MTA without a Valley representative. Bernson’s appointment rectifies that.

Valley political and neighborhood leaders were encouraged by Bernson’s appointment last week, but they also recognize the limits of his effectiveness on a divided board overseeing a cash-strapped agency. They predictably want Bernson to agitate for better transit service in the Valley.

To many, that means an east-west rail line across the middle of the Valley. Yet that kind of big-ticket project may not get anywhere. The day after Bernson’s appointment, a key congressional panel cut the federal share of MTA funding to $61.5 million--the lowest level in this decade. MTA officials hope to keep the Metro Rail extension to North Hollywood on track, but major initiatives are unlikely for the foreseeable future.

To his credit, Bernson vowed to consider regional needs as he tries to secure better service for the Valley. A thoughtful regional approach is the MTA’s only hope of regaining credibility. The San Fernando Valley’s traffic and mobility problems don’t end at Mulholland Drive, and jams on the Ventura Freeway are often caused by tie-ups downtown. Advocating for the Valley in isolation does little beyond giving civic leaders a shiny new public works project.

Valley residents are correct when they complain that the MTA gives back far less than it takes. But that complaint is true throughout Los Angeles County. In fact, the Valley has actually received more from the MTA than most communities have. With any luck, North Hollywood will get its subway stop--though sometime after the turn of the century.

Although that’s probably where the Valley’s rail system will end, there remains considerable latitude for giving local residents more transportation options. But first, Valley leaders have to agree on how to do it.

Rail is the favored choice, but it’s also the least likely. Alternatives such as the flexible shuttles introduced last week in the northeast Valley--and a similar program in the West Valley--deserve consideration. Bernson has the opportunity to work with the community and the two other MTA board members who represent the Valley--county Supervisors Mike Antonovich and Zev Yaroslavsky--to hammer out a consensus in the face of the sniping and skulduggery that doomed past plans.