Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association Touts Achievements; Hosts Gold Line Historian

To an audience that included former Pasadena Mayor Bill Bogaard, Ethan Elkind, author of “Railtown: Past and Future of the Gold Line” delineated the history of Pasadena’s light rail system, saying that the Los Angeles area’s rapidly expanding public transit system, non-existent only twenty years ago, is now the envy of the nation in its success and growth.

Elkind spoke at the Downtown Pasadena Neighborhood Association’s (DPNA) annual meeting, held at the Pasadena Presbyterian Church Thursday evening.

Both 7th District Councilmember Andy Wilson and 7th District candidate Phil Hosp were in attendance as well.

Opening the meeting and discussing the overall lay of the land with regard to the group’s activities and advocacies, DPNA President Jonathan Edewards noted that there is still “not enough green space in the central section of the city,” an area with more than 14,000 residents. Edewards mentioned the lack of green space while noting the increasing revenue coming to the City’s coffers from developer impact fees, over the last few years.

“These are very sizable fees, and where are they being raised?, he asked. “In Downtown Pasadena.”

Edewards also noted the group’s highlights over the past year, including its Curbside Chat presentation in February which featured engineer Charles Marohn, a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and founder and president of Strong Towns. Marohn discussed the financial realities of urban planning, pointing out that while most US cities are essentially the same, smart planning can make the difference in a city that is economically viable and one that isn’t.

Edewards also noted his group’s ongoing battle over the re-development of the 1922 Julia Morgan-designed YWCA in Pasadena’s Civic Center, which is being converted to a luxury boutique hotel by the Kimpton Hotel Corporation. His group opposes the design of the construction, which would directly impact the nearby trees and green spaces.

Meanwhile, author Elkind noted in his talk that the Pasadena area of the 1800s was “flat, pleasant and uncrowded” in the late 1800s, a good place for transit, which meant trains. Henry Huntington and other large developers wanted to bring people in to buy the homes and communities they were building. His Pacific Electric Railway spread tracks throughout the area, from the San Gabriel Valley to the beaches, but was eventually the victim of one of the earliest “disruptive technologies,” the automobile.

As Elkind related, many cities dismantled their public transit with the onset of the rapid growth of cars, as the region spread out and developed “horizontally.”

As the population grew car ownership grew. Los Angeles dismantled its last street car line in 1961, and then in early 70s Mayor Tom Bradley vowed to develop rapid transit, but most of his ballot measures failed.

When Prop A in passed in 1980, with the help of County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, “That was the beginning,” said Elkind.

The 22-mile LA to Long Beach Blue Line was built in 1990—at a cost of $877M, and has become one of the most successful and popular light rail lines in the country, according to Elkind. The Blue Line begat the four mile-long Red Line in 1993, which begat the 20-mile Green line in 1985.

Embarrassingly, the Green Line, near LAX, never connected to the airport. It was designed to serve aerospace employees in the South Bay.

“And then that industry vanished, thanks to the end of the Cold War,” said Elkind.

Prop C passed in 1990, which gave new impetus for more light rail lines, but plans for a West Side light rail were thwarted, as were plans for an East Side light rail.

Finally, in 1993, the Pasadena Gold Line construction began, opening in 2003 with trains from Union Station to Pasadena. Now the Gold Line has been extended to Azusa 11.5 miles for $735M, which, said Elkind, is the least cost-effective price, barring more development around the stations. Elkind emphasized the importance of building homes and shops near stations.

“It’s a perfect place to build homes and shops right next to the transit stations. Build where the people are,” he said.

The proposed Measure M on the November ballot, would extend the Gold Line out to Claremont almost to the San Bernardino County line, at a cost of $1.2 billion, Elkind explained. “Measure M would cover $1 billion of that cost,” he said.

Elkind also suggested that legislators streamline construction and planning processes for light rail, and look at other alternatives besides rail, like smart buses.

Commenting on the proposed High Speed Rail system being built from San Francisco to Los Angeles, he noted that that the line might be running out of money, but could likely attract enough riders to receive state and federal subsidies, and added, “Its the cheapest way to move people north and south, compared to airport and  highway expansion, there are not a lot of other ways to go.” Elkind noted that the train might also link the economies of various cities, providing a boost to poorer cities in the Central Valley.