After receiving intense pressure from San Gabriel Valley lawmakers, the county's transportation board, the MTA, finally put the Gold Line extension in its long-term plans. This opens up the possibility of federal funding for the project. With this commitment, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has agreed to provide day-to-day operational funding for the first phase of the Gold Line Foothill extension once it is completed.
Artist Andrew Leicester, 61, has been chosen to design a bridge meant to be an iconic gateway to the San Gabriel Valley along the Gold Line Foothill Extension. The bridge will cost an estimated $20-25 million to build. Leicester, who is based in Minneapolis, plans to incorporate artistic traditions from the Native American tribes of the San Gabriel Valley (Chumash and Gabrielenos a.k.a. Tongva), and references to the region's native animal and plant life, into a contemporary structure.
A draft report on the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension proposes stops in Arcadia, Monrovia, Duarte, Irwindale, Azusa, Glendora, San Dimas, LaVerne, Pomona and Claremont. City hearing will be held at Arcadia City Hall on June 14.
Gold Line Foothill Extension Authority officials unveiled a San Gabriel Valley-themed design for a rail bridge honoring local wildlife and native cultures. The span of the 739-foot bridge will stretch diagonally across the 210 Freeway to Santa Anita Avenue in Arcadia. It will be adorned by four basket-shaped columns and the bridge itself will have individual grooves resembling the scales of a snake. Andrew Leicester is the artist and designer.
The Gold Line Foothill Extension Construction Authority has predicted that people will get on the Pasadena-to-Azusa Gold Line extension 9,500 times a day in the year 2030.
Gold Line measure proposed. Supporters of the Metro Gold Line Extension through San Gabriel Valley are campaigning in Sacramento this week for legislation that would help create a new Gold Line authority. The new authority would provide for a 15-member board of representatives from the so-called Phase II cities, including Arcadia and Monrovia.
Measure R, by which voters approved a half-cent sales tax last November, was to fund dozens of new transportation projects across Los Angeles County. However, rather than launch new projects, several San Gabriel Valley cities plan to use the windfall to keep municipal bus routes and Dial-a-Ride shuttles in operation. Arcadia may store up some of the funding it is due to receive, 290,000 this year and $496,000 next year, for a larger project down the line, said Transportation Services Manager Linda Hui. Possible projects include funding part of a grade separation at a future Gold Line station in Arcadia, or funding other Gold Line station enhancements, such as shuttle services. Street improvements are also a possibility for Arcadia.
Metropolitan Transportation Agency (MTA) is not considering the Gold Line Foothill Extension from Sierra Madre to Claremont a priority now. County transportation officials recommended the so-called "Subway to the Sea," a proposed extension of the Purple Line out to Santa Monica and a "regional connector" project that would link several rail lines through downtown Los Angeles, as the priorities.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) Board approved $10 million for the 24-mile Gold Line Foothill Extension that is going through Arcadia to Claremont. The money comes from Measure R.
The proposed site for Arcadia's Gold Line station is just east of Santa Anita Avenue, at the First Avenue/Santa Clara intersection. City leaders want to separate the railroad tracks from the street.
Ridership on the Gold Line has fallen below expectations. The MTA is now considering a new express service to encourage residents in East Pasadena and Arcadia to take the light rail train.
Rose Queen Courtney Lee, of Arcadia, and the Royal Court rode the Metro Gold Line to promote the Metro's "Go Metro" to the Rose Parade and Rose Bowl campaign.