Funds to Improve Orange Line Safety and Other Valley Projects Win House Approval

An important part of my job is making sure the San Fernando Valley gets its fair share of projects funded by Congress. Partway through this years budget-writing process, we have made significant progress. The successes range from finding funds for Orange Line improvements to supporting a successful drug rehabilitation program.

The vast majority of domestic federal spending is determined by formulas set by law. The State of California gets a portion of federal transportation assistance, for example. Los Angeles receives federal dollars to support an array of city services. In addition to these regular funds, each year I seek funds for particularly worthy projects in the Valley.

In a transportation bill, the House set aside $500,000 for safety improvements along the Orange Line busway, and another $100,000 for a new transit center at California State University, Northridge.

Orange Line ridership records have dramatically exceeded estimates by transit planners. In May, almost 22,000 passengers a day on average boarded buses at stops along the 14-mile route between North Hollywood and Warner Center. Extending the Orange Line to Chatsworth should be the next step.

After the busway opened last October, there were several collisions involving drivers of cars that ran red lights or disobeyed other traffic rules. Bus drivers also have reported more than 2,300 near misses at busy intersections.

In order to make accidents less likely, the House approved funds to embed in the busway pavement bright lights that will flash when buses approach and cross intersections. The lights will be installed where the Orange Line crosses Chandler near Ethel Avenue; Burbank and Fulton; Van Nuys Boulevard; Sepulveda Boulevard; Woodley Avenue; Balboa Boulevard; White Oak Avenue; Victory and Topham; Victory and Mason; Victory and De Soto, and at a mid-block pedestrian crosswalk at Lankershim Boulevard.

Altogether, Congress has set aside more than $4.2 million in federal funds for Orange Line projects, including $1.9 million for bike paths along the route; $1 million for the Warner Center transit hub; $836,000 to build an Orange Line extension and bus shelter at Pierce College, and $500,000 for park-and-ride facilities along the route.

In this years transportation funding bill, the House approved $100,000 for a transit center at Cal State, Northridge. The new facility would be located at the main west campus entrance and provide a central location for commuters using mass transit to get to and from the university.

There also have been successes on other fronts.

In another bill, $2 million was appropriated for restoration work on Bull Creek channel in the Sepulveda Basin. The funds would be on top of $2 million Congress set aside last year for restoration of wildlife and native habitat in the creek channel. New trails and a pedestrian bridge to give park visitors better access to the area also are covered by the funding.

Most recently, the House voted to expand long-term substance abuse programs for adolescents at Phoenix Academy in Lake View Terrace. The project was included in a bill to fund Justice Department programs. Phoenix Academy is the only facility in Los Angeles County that provides long-term residential treatment for teenagers with drug and alcohol problems.

In a bill funding Housing and Urban Development Department programs, the House included $150,000 that I sought for the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda. If the Senate goes along, the funds will help finance renovation of a residential care building.

There is more to be done before the appropriations process is completed. I will work with our California senators to make certain the Valley projects are protected when Congress completes action on appropriations for the fiscal year that begins in October.