It is interesting that more and more there is open discussion of the likelihood of user fees and tolls becoming a more prevalent transportation funding option in the future than heretofore. Norm King, Executive Director of the San Bernardino Associated Governments, speaks at length regarding this in the July Metro Investment Report [http://www.metroinvestmentreport.com/mir/?module=display format=html]

Similar comments were made at the funding breakout session at the recent Mobility 21 summit. I think this is not an indication that tolls et al are any less controversial than before. Instead the weigh of the need for infrastructure investment and upkeep so outstrips current resources that once untouchable options gradually seem less odorous. But I foresee this process as being incremental and at time volatile.

This is true devotion: I dragged myself out of bed in the early morning of July 17 so I could attend the Gold Line eastside extension groundbreaking ceremony. The agenda was so overloaded with politicians making remarks (often at length but rarely inspired) that I began to wonder whether if it were possible that there was an elected official within 50 miles of where I sat who wasn't present and proclaiming what a great day this was. At least they provided a canopy to screen us from the sun and tubs full of bottled water buried in ice.

I was among the small handful after the ceremony was done who availed myself of the free bus transportation MTA offered for attendees to be transported to the associated festivities at Belvedere Park. As we flew toward the eastside with a police escort one bonus of the trip was among the passengers was L.A. Councilman Antonio Villaraigosa. He soon stood at the front of the bus and held forth as part tour guide, part politico working the crowd. Watching this unfold made me more sure of the likelihood of Villaraigosa jumping into the Los Angeles Mayors' race and a possible rematch with James Hahn, which he subsequently did. The Mayor of L.A. has a great influence over transportation issues by virtue of being a national figure and controlling 4 seats on the MTA Board. With Hahn on the defensive things could get interesting.

I am intrigued to learn that MTA Internal Audit issued a report on transit funds allocation earlier this year (per p.2, agenda item #10, June 17 MTA Executive Management and Audit Committee. I hope to obtain a copy because the summary sounds intriguing: "We found that changes over the years have significantly alerted the formula allocation procedures and complicated the way funds are allocated. We also found that management controls over the allocation process needed improvement".

L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina seems to have no shame in publicly exposing her vast ignorance on transportation issues. It is almost painful to read a transcript of her appearance July 18 on the Channel 11 local public affairs program Midday Sunday touting the Gold Line eastside extension. At one point she actually claims its ridership will exceed the Red Line! Then at the July 22 MTA Board meeting during a presentation of the annual report of the Service Sector Governance Councils to the MTA Board of Directors Molina made comments to presenter Coby King, Chair of the San Fernando Valley Sector Governance Council, that clearly showed she has been utterly oblivious during the start-up of the Sector Councils and ignorant of their role in service oversight. Truly amazing!

Steve Schnaidt, staff director of the state Senate Transportation Committee, makes an interesting observation in the July 23 edition of Political Pulse regarding the delay until 2006 of the bullet train bond issue: by then the battles over routing (and associated bond issue: by then the battles over routing (and associated lawsuits) could be fought to a conclusion and thus not cloud the election. Makes sense to me.

What doesn't make sense to me are comments by Councilmember Robin Lowe of Hemet as quoted in the minutes of the June 3 meeting of SCAG's Transportation and Communications Committee. Lowe is paraphrased as stating a concern that anyone who has gone to Europe assumes the high speed rail and maglev are similar projects to those in Europe which she stated is not the case. I hope to communicate with Ms. Lowe why she would state this regarding the proposed bullet train, which as far as I can see is proposed to be similar to the high speed systems in Japan and Europe.

Depressing moment of the month: the cowardly decision by the leadership of Mobility 21 to have the 2004 Julian Dixon Award be given jointly to the entire L.A. Congressional Delegation. And in a further irony not a single legislator was at the event to receive their award, thus the spectacle of a small crowd of aides acting as stand-ins for the photo-op. The Dixon award is supposed to exemplify the bold leadership the late Congressman Dixon so often showed. How sad that this year it was instead reduced to a lowest common denominator standard utterly counter to the original intent of the award. Pitiful!

Well, I predicted last month that their would soon be wailing over the MTA Board refusal to fund ASI beyond ADA mandated services. At the June 8 ASI Community Advisory Committee meeting the minutes note that member Kathleen Perrin made comments on "the legal implications that Access Services would face by providing a service that is designed to function at the bare minimum as required by law, as each problem will result in a serious violation'". How would a violation occur as long as the requirements of ADA are adhered to, even if only at a bare minimum?

Also last month I commented on the mystery of an item on the agenda of the Board of South Coast Area Transit in Ventura County--a reference to a Bus Riders Union of Ventura County. The kind folks at SCAT at my request sent the flyer that the agenda item was referring to. Turns out this is a new organization, which held its first meeting in May. They meet the 4th Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at the E.P. Foster Library in Ventura. Some of the flyer's rhetoric is reminiscent of the BRU we all know, coming out against sub-contracting and making social equity arguments, but the relationship (if any) between the two groups is at this time unknown. Those wishing more information can contact organizer Bev Edmon at
(805) 659-7086.

Embarrassing slip-up of the month: the cover of the agenda for the June 22 MTA Service Sector Governance Council Annual Meet and Confer misspelled the names of several of the 40-some council members (worst example--Joan Leonard became Loan Leonard). Maybe next year someone could proof-read and double check the spelling?

I'll conclude by offerings kudos to AVTA Interim Executive Director Randy Floyd who has instituted a policy that all AVTA staff are required to ride the bus at least once a month and present a report on their observations at the weekly staff meeting. Bravo!