MTA Chief Asks State to Fund Top Priorities

Worried that state budget cuts could devastate several long-planned mass-transit projects, the head of Los Angeles County’s transit agency pleaded with the California Transportation Commission on Thursday to guarantee funding for an A list of projects.

Roger Snoble, chief executive of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, asked the commission to ensure roughly $300 million over four years for his most coveted projects: the purchase of about 200 extra-long buses, the 14-mile Chandler busway in the San Fernando Valley, and a six-mile light-rail line slated to run from downtown to East L.A., a project that could be scrapped if the state does not give its support within months.

Faced with a decline in state and federal money, the MTA board earlier this month identified the bus purchase, busway and light-rail line as the agency’s top priorities.

Speaking before the commission, Snoble sought a guarantee that funding promised before this year’s state budget crisis would still be delivered. If not, he said, the MTA is “going to lose out on huge opportunities” to alleviate congestion in Los Angeles. Gov. Gray Davis’ budget proposal calls for cutting billions of dollars in transportation spending over the next 16 months. Los Angeles could be one of the hardest hit. If the cuts continue past next year, the MTA stands to lose $1.4 billion from a special funding source created by Davis in 2000 to help pay for high-profile projects such as busways and light rail.

Snoble said he is worried the Chandler busway could be delayed at least one year if money is not found by summer. He said busway construction is stalled because the MTA cannot guarantee payment to the project’s builder.

But the MTA chief said he was most concerned about the Eastside light railway, a roughly $1-billion project that leverages $490 million in federal money with state funds, starting with $191 million over the next four years. The MTA could end up losing the project because a federal funding agreement will expire if not signed this year, Snoble said in an interview.

MTA officials had hoped the commission would give the MTA a firm commitment Thursday. It declined, however, deciding to postpone a vote on the request until April.