With the opening of the Gold Line in March came the promise of new adventures.
The San Gabriel Valley is now connected to everything Los Angeles has to offer through the light rail, turning an hour and a half or more long journey into maybe a 30-minute ride.
Now that the tracks have made it this far, there’s no reason to stop there and the Foothill Gold Line Construction Authority plans on extending its reach all the way out to Montclair.
With the planned expansion of the Gold Line out to Montclair, students like myself in Citrus’ eastern district, and even those not in district lines, will no longer have to battle traffic on what should have been a 10 to 15-minute ride to school.
The threat of spending anywhere from one to two hours in traffic just for a trip out to Los Angeles would no longer influence the decision to go before even leaving home.
This extension would make Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne, Pomona, Claremont and Montclair, and all these cities have to offer, accessible to Citrus College.
Each city’s projected Metro station is located within walking distances of the downtown areas with the exception of Pomona and Montclair.
Glendora’s projected stop would fall a couple blocks below Old Town Glendora making the popular restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques within three blocks of the station.
Also available will be the gourmet and craft restaurants, small boutiques and farmer’s markets of Glendora, San Dimas and Claremont alike.
The University of La Verne and Old Town La Verne will be right off the projected La Verne stop, just a couple minute walk from the station.
Pomona’s station will be a bit far north of its downtown scene but is close to the Old Stump Brewery.
Eventually the line would reach the Montclair transit station, just a few blocks north of the Montclair Plaza Mall, for a day of shopping, as
well as several chain restaurants.
The access to these foothill cities the expansion of the Gold Line allows will change the way people think about entertainment and access the Los Angeles county.
The light rail, powered by electricity is quicker and quieter than heavy commuter trains with a more efficient schedule for traveling.
Some of these stops will be taking advantage of old tracks already in place but the Claremont stop will have to relocate its Metrolink to accommodate both trains. Just like the added six stops from Pasadena to Azusa, the stations will feature art from local artists to represent its respective city.
The added 12.3 miles of light rail tracks will allow riders to even more freedom from gridlock traffic.
There’s only one catch: Phase one of the project needs $1.2 billion in funding for to accomplish this dream of further connecting the San Gabriel Valley and San Bernardino county to Los Angeles.
Currently the project will use remaining funds from Measure R that brought the Gold Line to Azusa.
On the November ballot is Measure M, also known as the “Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan.” This transportation sales tax increase would give a portion of its budget to extending the Gold Line to Claremont, where San Bernardino county will take over to extend the Gold Line to Montclair.
Measure M needs a two-thirds majority vote to pass and successfully continue the Gold Line’s journey east. Without funding the Gold Line extension could be delayed almost 30 years as opposed to the projected five or six projected to complete the rail-way.
The voter registration deadline, Oct. 24, is fast approaching. Do not let Measure M fail and take the possibility expansion with it.
