As
environmental work continues for the Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2 project,
Metro will hold four community scoping meetings on February 22-27 in Pico
Rivera, South El Monte, Montebello and Whittier to review two build alternatives:
light rail transit via State Route 60 and on Washington Boulevard in addition
to a transportation systems management (improving bus services), and a no-build
alternative.

The Eastside Transit Corridor Phase 2
project area consists of portions of eight jurisdictions including the cities
of Commerce, Montebello, Monterey
Park, Pico Rivera, Rosemead,
Santa Fe Springs, South El Monte, Whittier, and
unincorporated areas of Los
Angeles County.

The
scoping meetings are the first step in the preparation of a Draft Environmental
Impact Statement/Report (DEIS/DEIR) in accordance with National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The
public will learn about the proposed project, provide input on the alternatives
and the evaluation process used to identify and mitigate environmental impacts.

The
four community meetings will be held on:

Monday, February 22

Pio Pico Women’s Center

6 p.m. to 8
p.m.

9214 Mines Avenue

Pico Rivera

Wednesday, February 24

South
El Monte Senior Center
(dining room)

6 p.m. to 8
p.m.

1556 Central Avenue

South El Monte

Thursday, February 25

Senior Center at City
Park, South Wing

6 p.m. to 8
p.m.

115 South Taylor Avenue

Montebello

Saturday,
February 27

The Salvation Army Santa Fe Springs (Studio 12000)

10 a.m. to 12 p.m.

12000 East Washington Boulevard

Whittier

The
format of the meetings will include an open house followed by a presentation to
inform participants of the environmental process and provide an opportunity to
ask questions about the study and submit comments.

Since
2007, Metro has conducted an Alternative Analysis (AA) and has prepared
supplemental technical studies to identify feasible routes to extend the Metro
Gold Line Eastside Extension to cities farther east of Los Angeles.

Every
day, approximately 50,000 commuting trips leave the area bound for central Los Angeles and 115,000
daily work trips are made within the study area, itself. These existing
conditions, combined with projected population growth of 24 percent and
employment growth of 15 percent over the next 30 years, illustrate the need for
additional transit alternatives.

If
members of the public are unable to attend any of the scoping meetings they may
still submit comments by mail, fax or e-mail. The comments must be received by
April 14, 2010.

 For
questions about technical information related to this project contact Kimberly
Yu, Metro Planning Project Manager, Metro Planning, One
Gateway Plaza,
Mail Stop 99-22-2, Los Angeles,
CA, 90012,
(213) 922-7910 or e-mail: yuki@metro.net

For
questions about public outreach or any community concerns contact Ann Kerman,
Constituent Program Manager, Metro Regional Communications, One Gateway Plaza, Los
Angeles, CA, 90012, (213) 922-7671 or e-mail: kermana@metro.net. To learn more about this
project, visit Metro’s website at www.metro.net/eastsidephase2 and
Facebook.com /Metroeastsidephase2.