For decades, California officials complained that efforts to get traffic moving were stymied by a lack of money.
But with apparent voter approval Tuesday of massive new financing schemes for both the state and Los Angeles County, transportation planners suddenly and somewhat unexpectedly have tens of billions coming for an array of rail, bus and traffic improvement projects. The gusher of tax dollars offers a rare chance to fix crucial parts of a transportation network choking on too many cars and commuters, experts say.
Simultaneous approval of a high-speed rail line to link California's two major cities and a package of subway, light rail, highway and busway expansions in the state's most populous county marks "a huge step forward," said Dario Frommer, a member of the California Transportation Commission.
In Los Angeles, where voters agreed to increase sales taxes to pay for up to $40 billion in projects, "we have a huge opportunity to transform [the county] in a way that's never been done before," said Richard Katz, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority board member and transit advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. "Without being overly dramatic, this is as significant on the local level as Barack Obama's election on the national level."
But now comes the more sobering, slogging challenge: delivering on the ambitious -- even grandiose -- expectations raised by the Proposition 1A and Measure R campaigns.
"We are not out of the woods yet in terms of stabilizing and securing all the funding necessary for these projects," said Frommer, former majority leader of the state Assembly.
One growing concern: State and federal lawmakers could pull back existing and anticipated matching funds for transportation projects because of the nation's deepening economic crisis.
Indeed, the timing of the two transportation ballot measures, along with construction schedules and promises of congestion relief, were based in part on plans to wring more money from other sources. Chief among them is a giant federal transportation bill -- the first since 2005 -- to be crafted by Congress next year.
But state and federal lawmakers face major budget deficits, coupled with declines in transportation tax dollars from gasoline sales, which have dropped as motorists drive less.
Even with the new ballot measure money, including nearly $10 billion for the bullet train from the Bay Area to Southern California, some projects could be delayed or in jeopardy if current transportation allotments are cut back, Frommer said. "It's very complicated."
