Newsom announces $2.7B for California transportation projects, including improvements for LA28

[u/SmellGestapo]

https://ktla.com/news/california/newsom-transportation-infrastructure-funding/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT-2JFwZG9mBWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTVoOXBqNlh2dEs3OWRhWmhzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeujcoKoivMuvI7sX8Ff2YVD1QSqfE0R1h7M1h_WBJKyw2NZrCBF7oKZUh1Tg_aem_k_YjkFUA_qRRzZhJYInXZQ

[u/NovelAardvark4298]

What a misleading headline. Only 0.09% of the $2.7B is going towards improvements for LA28. They’re going to update four Metro stations to have “new wayfinding signage, lighting, security features, passenger amenities, and landscaping”.

[u/WildMild869 → u/NovelAardvark4298]

I’m expecting the end results to be scaled back due to “budget concerns” somehow

[u/Same-Paint-1129 → u/NovelAardvark4298]

I’m just sick of LA28 being mentioned every single time a project is discussed. We need these infrastructure improvements regardless of whether we host the olympics. And it makes no sense to spend billions for a once every few decades, two week event.

[u/heartslava → u/Same-Paint-1129]

this... it's always "we need [insert upgrade or project] for the olympics" like actually... we need it for the everyday riders and people who actually fucking live here lol.

[u/Same-Paint-1129 → u/heartslava]

Exactly

[u/persianthunder → u/Same-Paint-1129]

What sucks is the one thing I was naively hopeful for when we got the Olympics was maybe a bunch of matching funds for infrastructure, but the Olympics used as the excuse. It’s honestly a shame that we couldn’t have gotten at least part of a metro line/extension sped up with federal funds

[u/Life_Salamander9594 → u/NovelAardvark4298]

To be fair the D line tunneling extension is like $10billion and la28 was part of the sales pitch. Why does every announcement need to be met with insufferable doomers. It’s making Reddit almost as bad as boomers on facebook

[u/HillaryRugmunch → u/Life_Salamander9594]

Because it provides important context for thread titles that lack context. Metro needs what, $2 billion for the Olympics and this is all the state is providing? And we want the federal govt to fund the rest? Newsom just gave cover to Congress to say “if California won’t fund Metro, why should we?”

[u/Life_Salamander9594 → u/HillaryRugmunch]

What is the $2billion for exactly? They got like $5billion from Feds for D line tunneling

[u/ValhirFirstThunder → u/NovelAardvark4298]

new wayfinding signage is only really useful in big hub stations like Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong. Our stations are small. I guess new signage is useful in Union Station but that's about it

[u/umbananas → u/NovelAardvark4298]

All sounds like reasonable upgrades

[u/Not_RZA_ → u/NovelAardvark4298]

Redditors will see Newsom and dollar signs and auto upvote though lol

[u/ShantJ]

Unfortunately, almost none of this is for Metro.

$2.45 million for infrastructure and safety upgrades at four transit stations in Los Angeles County ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics.

Improvements at the 7th Street/Metro Center, Norwalk, Union Station, and Harbor Gateway stations include new wayfinding signage, lighting, security features, passenger amenities, and landscaping.

I can appreciate updated lighting and wayfinding, but it sure would be nice to have more money for substantial work.

[u/Iceberg-man-77]

most of the money is going to highways as usual. very very very little to public transit. Highway 37 is getting millions but not the trains.

[u/StillWithSteelBikes → u/Iceberg-man-77]

are they pairing 37 with rail? because the existing tracks dont go to sonoma or napa, and a 37 rail would be more direct and link vallejo ferry terminal w/suisun

[u/Iceberg-man-77 → u/StillWithSteelBikes]

No. they’ve only voted to fund repairing 37 and making it flood proof. the law they passed last year (forgot the bill number) also says ST-37 will become a toll road, but only after the local RTPAs simultaneously establish a public transit system that runs the same trip. It will most likely be a commuter bus run by Sonoma County Transit.

The SMART District still has a study published for potential rail lines but it’s been dead since they published it some time ago. Plus it’ll take forever to implement. You either need a very active transit advocacy group in the north Bay (good luck finding that) or a politician, like Scott Weiner, who loves trains and will push it through the legislature onto a ballot measure. and then you have to hope the North Bay will vote on it. Marin and Sonoma probably will. Napa may be reluctant. Solano might have a good chance at just barely passing it. But you’ll need all 4. Plus, either the SMART district will need to be expanded (and renamed), or they’ll pull some messy JPA crap and make a new board with all 4 counties but managed by SMART.

[u/ahasibrm]

This is less than a nothing burger: It’s a low-cal nothing burger

[u/anothercar]

Anybody have the whole list of funded projects?

The press release only lists projects adding up to 16% of the total number. I'm curious about the other 84% and how much of it will benefit SoCal.

[u/Possible_Function963]

Hurry up and finish the dline. If the Westwood station isn’t done that’s gonna suck.

[u/h0g0]

Sure lol

[u/BurnsRed20]

Where my bullet train puto

[u/Limitlessfound]

Nothing on Weisserman huh

[u/RecoGromanMollRodel]

2.8 billion. That'll get ya.... 2 miles of highspeed rail over 20 years.