Every week, Streetsblog Los Angeles publishes the SGV Connect newsletter featuring headlines, news stories and analysis on the news that impacts the San Gabriel Valley. The newsletter is supported by Foothill Transit and is available for free to anyone who signs up. You can sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, by clicking on the link.
Not sold yet? You can see this week's SGV Connect here, and read the content of the newsletter, below.
The City of La Puente is looking for more feedback on its Safe Routes to Schools plan. Active SGV encourages people to take part in the plan: “Crossing the street should not be a life or death situation.”
La Puente is offering two ways to contribute. Users can fill in a map with parts of the city’s grid that are most in need of improvements, here. The team also encourages you to complete the separate online survey to help identify concerns and collect suggestions related to improving school travel in La Puente.
Starting tomorrow, a new shuttle route operated by Pasadena Transit will connect the The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Garden to the Gold Line Station at Sierra Madre Villa.
The Route H shuttle will operate on Saturdays and Sundays - until the pilot program ends on June 26. In addition to the station and library, the shuttle will make four stops along the route. The first shuttle leaves for The Huntington at 9:40 a.m. with the last departing from The Huntington at 6:02 p.m.
There will be no fares to use the Route H shuttle; it is being paid for by the Library. Read more, here.
Other News:
The city of Alhambra was the latest San Gabriel Valley city to pass a temporary ordinance to reduce the impact of SB 9 which was into law in 2020, voting 5-0 during a special City Council meeting this week. SB 9 is meant to help ease the state’s affordable housing crisis, but has been met with resistance from cities concerned that it would render single-family zoning obsolete. For more, click here.
The San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments (SGVCOG), in partnership with Los Angeles Metro (Metro), is conducting a feasibility study to evaluate and improve mobility in the San Gabriel Valley. The study will evaluate short- and long-term transit options designed to enhance communities and the lives of residents, workers, and visitors, with a focus on our most vulnerable populations: transit-dependent populations and equity-focus communities constrained by existing transportation systems. Take the survey here.
The LA Metro Board of Directors wrote to the county’s state representatives in the legislature to support investing $16.5 billion from the state surplus into transportation infrastructure. Their letter, which is on the agenda for the board’s January 5 meeting [PDF], includes a specific list of suggested investments in transit, active transportation, high-speed rail, and other infrastructure. For more, visit Streetsblog California.
Active SGV is hiring for two new positions: Organizing and Policy Specialist and a Finance and Administrative Director. For more information, or to apply for either of these positions, click here.
Foothill Transit is conducting a year-long study to find out how to better serve customers. Foothill Transit Forward will evaluate all aspects of the Foothill Transit system and determine where improvements can be made to create a more effective, efficient, equitable, and sustainable service. The outcome will be a detailed service plan to make Foothill Transit more convenient and useful for San Gabriel Valley residents. Find out more at FoothillTransitForward.com.
Foothill Transit is proposing changes to Lines 292 and 690 later this year. There will be public information sessions later this month through Mid-February. For more details on the changes, and how you can get involved, click here.
Metro, Foothill Transit, and many other transit agencies are experiencing delays in service as a result of staffing shortages caused by the Omicron surge. Real-time information on all Foothill routes and buses can be found here: https://foothilltransit.rideralerts.com/myStop/. Plan ahead in case your commute takes longer than usual.
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus is raging in L.A. County. Over 36,000 new cases were reported in the County yesterday, and that doesn’t include the many people who test at home but don’t report results to the county. The rising number of cases is hitting unvaccinated communities, especially police and firefighters, the hardest. Some school districts are also having trouble re-opening after the holidays as teachers, staff, and students are forced to stay at home.
Several hundred gallons of gasoline spilled Sunday into the Alhambra wash, prompting health and safety warnings in San Gabriel Valley communities. Alhambra police said the spill left a lingering gas smell, which should dissipate throughout today. There was no current threat to the public, Pasadena city spokesperson Lisa Derderian said Sunday night. For more, visit the Star-News, here.
Since the last time we wrote this newsletter, it rained. It rained a lot. While this was great news for our near-empty reservoirs, the rainfall wasn’t enough to end the drought on its own.
Rancho Cucamonga and Los Angeles are among the first cities in the country to begin electrifying their fire truck fleet. The Daily Bulletin has more.
On January 1, dozens of new laws went into effect in California. CalMatters explains some of the largest ones including changes to the state’s zoning laws and the ‘police decertification bill.’
A quick thank you to our readers! Streetsblog LA, SF, and California raised just under $30,000 in our end of the year fundraising drive. Thanks to everyone for their support!
And we’ll close with a shoutout to Senator Anthony Portantino who started his new year extolling the virtues of bicycling with a 30-mile ride documented on twitter. Good luck on your goal of riding more and driving less!
SBLA San Gabriel Valley coverage, including this article and 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.”
