SGV Connect 56 – New Plans for Arrow Highway, Connect SoCal and Transportation Planning in Pasadena

After a holiday break and a look-ahead episode, SGV Connect returns to its regularly scheduled programming: looking at the issues and programs that impact the present and future of the San Gabriel Valley.

First, Kris Fortin talks to Kome Ajise, the executive director of the Southern California Association of Governments. The two discuss the Multimodal Regional Corridor Plan for Arrow Highway and how people can get involved in the plan to make a car-centric highway more appealing to road users who aren’t traveling by car.

To learn more about this project or to leave a comment, visit their official website. Comments are due by the end of the month.

The two also discuss “Connect SoCal,” the long range plan SCAG is developing that will guide planning for housing, transportation, and public health within the counties of Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura.

For more information, or to submit comments on the plan, visit SCAG’s website. Comments are due at 5 p.m. this Friday, January 24.

Later, Damien speaks with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, about a discussion happening in Pasadena around transportation planning. In 2014, it became the first city in the state to change how it reviews transportation and development projects from the car-centric “Level of Service” (LOS) to a more people-centered metric called “Vehicle Miles Traveled.” When the city council asked for a report on how the change is impacting the city, local media reacted by implying that the city might be backing away from the metric.

Linton explains that changing back to LOS is no longer possible under state law, however Pasadena can tinker with its goals and projections, something that some Council members seem keen on doing.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”