Measure M, on the Nov. 8 ballot in Los Angeles County, is about a choice between two very different futures for our region — one with a robust transit system, or one with even worse congestion.
If passed, Measure M would reduce the time people are stuck in traffic by 15 percent. Less traffic and more transit options mean more time to spend with our families and friends.
Like its traffic reduction impact, Measure M’s economic impact was also studied independently, and the results were staggering: Measure M would create 465,000 new jobs across our region.
Those are good jobs, with benefits, working on construction sites and manufacturing rail cars and buses, and they are augmented by good jobs created when those workers spend at our establishments and shop for their families.
Long Beach and every city and unincorporated area in Los Angeles County will receive millions of dollars in annual funding for local traffic reduction and traffic reduction projects if Measure M passes.
The city of Long Beach will receive $7 million in “local return” funding starting in 2018, which equates to $1.1 billion in local funding through the first 40 years of the plan.
Local transit agencies like Long Beach Transit will receive nearly $10 million in the first full year to fund the delivery of transit service. Annual funding is projected to increase each year.
What does this mean for us? More frequent transit service. Instead of waiting for a bus for 20 minutes within Long Beach Transit’s 100-square-mile service area, your wait time could be reduced by 25 percent, to 15 minutes.
Long Beach will also benefit from improvements along the 710 between our city and Commerce; improvements on the 605 between us and South El Monte (which begin immediately); Blue Line improvements including reconstruction of the Wardlow station and replacement of the Shoemaker Bridge between our downtown and the west side of Long Beach.
Measure M will transform our current system of individual Metro lines into a comprehensive transportation network. Also important, especially for riders of the Blue and Green Lines, it would connect multiple rail lines to a new LAX station that would directly connect to the airport’s terminals.
Passing Measure M will also improve mass transit connections for our residents to key job centers — downtown, West Los Angeles, the South Bay, Pasadena and many others. Measure M would extend new rail transit to Artesia, Torrance, Norwalk, Whittier, South El Monte and many other communities.
Does Measure M solve all of our problems? Of course not. But it makes a huge difference for a small investment.
That’s why almost every major business, labor, and environmental group is supporting Measure M. They include the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, the Los Angeles County Business Federation (BizFed), the L.A. County Federation of Labor, and environmental organizations across the region.
Measure M is the best option to reduce the traffic congestion that will result from our growing population by building a world-class rail and bus transit network, improving our freeways, and repairing roads in Long Beach and all of the county’s other cities and neighborhoods.
The choice is simple: Do nothing and add a couple of million more people to our freeways, roads and transit system, or vote yes on Measure M and make sure we’re prepared for our population growth and that we reduce the time we’re stuck in traffic by 15 percent.
Robert Garcia is the mayor of Long Beach. Kenneth McDonald is president and CEO of Long Beach Transit.
