As we wade through all the June primary election materials arriving in the mail we can be thankful we won’t be facing a Glendale Municipal election next year. Elections for the city, Glendale Unified School District board of education and Glendale Community College board of trustees, formerly held on the first Tuesday of April in odd numbered years, are moving to coincide with the state primary. That will be in March of even numbered years going forward. That change means those local officials elected in 2015 will serve until 2020 and those elected last year will be in office until 2022. The move is an effort to increase voter turnout. It’s a shame officials have to make it easier for people to act in their own best interest. Democracy is something you might lose if you don’t use.

Los Angeles County is gathering input from the public about priorities for spending the revenue from Measure M, which passed with nearly 70% approval in 2016. The additional half-cent sales tax is devoted to transportation and the county is asking local bodies to help with the effort. Andrew Ross from the LA County Dept. of Public Works spoke at the April 19 Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting. He explained that the county is looking for projects compatible with the Complete Streets concept, public transit, and modal connectivity. Complete Streets is making streets “a space where people can safely walk, bicycle, drive, take transit and socialize” to quote the National Association of City Transportation Officials Urban Street Design Guide. That includes things like the bump-outs and bike lanes.

An excellent example of a recently implemented modal connectivity project is the new Pasadena Transit Route 88 bus. It takes hikers from the Gold Line Memorial Park Station to Sam Merrill Trailhead in Altadena. Downtown LA residents can hop on the Gold Line at Union Station, take the bus to the trailhead and hike up to old Mt. Lowe railway. The passengers enjoying that back in the 1890s probably never imagined such possibilities. Things are changing in automobile-centric Southern California.

Recently an aerial tramway from Union Station to Dodger Stadium was proposed to ease the traffic on game days. Inland Empire or Ventura County fans could get to Chavez Ravine via rail to tram. It would be used as a tourist attraction the rest of the time, offering spectacular views of the entire region. This is a pretty fanciful idea that many are already condemning as impractical but it illustrates the kind of creativity that is needed to keep us moving around the area.

Other jurisdictions in our Arroyo Verdugo Sub region will be doing similar outreach. As you travel about the area consider what would make that better and let the appropriate government body know about your ideas. The county is expected to open grant applications on July 31. Improvement in transportation will be even more important as more housing is built.

LA Metro has a yet more ambitious community input gathering process currently going on. They have drafted a strategic plan for the next 10 years called Metro Vision 2028. It was announced to the public on April 27 and the draft is available for review until Thursday, May 24. The Metro board of directors will consider adopting the Plan at their meeting on June 28. You can learn more about it and how you can submit your comments on the website: https://www.metro.net/about/metro-vision-2028-plan/.

The next CVCA meeting will be May 24 starting at 7 p.m. in the community room at the La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. Park in the upper lot accessed from La Crescenta Avenue. All Crescenta Valley residents and stakeholders are welcome.