Antonio Villaraigosa

City Council Talking Local Return on Wednesday: Help Me Prepare

Let's rewind to about a year ago. We still weren't sure whether or not the sales tax measure now known as Measure R would make it to the fall ballot, and activists of all ilk were rallying to try and make certain their favored mode of transportation wouldn't be left out in the cold.

By Damien Newton

2:39 PM PDT on June 8, 2009

Photo of a pedestrian packed Broadway via DLIU Photography/Flickr

Let’s rewind to about a year ago. We still weren’t sure whether or not the sales tax measure now known as Measure R would make it to the fall ballot, and activists of all ilk were rallying to try and make certain their favored mode of transportation wouldn’t be left out in the cold.

At the time, Streetsblog helped lead the charge for a set-aside for bicycle and pedestrian projects to make certain that Local Return funds, which make up 15% of the total Measure R allocation, wouldn’t just get funneled into wasteful expansion and synchronization projects. Unfortunately, we failed to get anything put into the legislation or Measure R; but we did get assurances from Mayor Villaraigosa that the city was really, really serious about using an unspecified portion of its Local Return for projects to promote walking and biking.

Well, it’s time to put Villaraigosa’s promise to the test. This Wednesday, the LA City Council Transportation Committee will debate and vote on a motion directing the LADOT to create its plans for those Local Return funds. I’m going to be on hand to remind the City Council of the Mayor’s promise and the 200 signatures we gathered last year; but I’m looking for your help. Besides the letter and a copy of the article announcing the Mayor’s promise to us; what if anything else should I take with me on Wednesday?

Damien Newton

Antonio Villaraigosa | LADOT | Measure R

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