Metro Gold Line Extension Is a Priority of L.A. Mayor

Mayor Eric Garcetti told mayors and transportation officials from the San Gabriel Valley Thursday that as chair of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority he was committed to making sure the Metro Gold Line will one day reach further east of Los Angeles.

The Gold Line is a light rail line that runs from Pasadena to East Los Angeles, with the Gold Line Foothill Extension from Pasadena to Azusa scheduled to open in 2016.

Garcetti said at a roundtable in Claremont on Thursday morning that he has listened to concerns that further expansion of the Gold Line beyond the San Gabriel Valley is not planned or funded at this time.

"It is as high a priority for me to get that done as it is to bring rail to LAX," Garcetti said.

A flurry of rail construction work already was underway, including the Crenshaw/LAX Line and the second phase of the Expo Line.

The roundtable—hosted by Garcetti and Assemblyman Chris Holden, D- Pasadena—was attended by mayors from seven San Gabriel Valley cities and representatives from Metro, the Gold Line Construction Authority, ACE and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments.

Garcetti said any regional transportation solution will not stop at city lines.

"We all live in the same city. We may be in different municipalities, but if we are honest with the geography and topography of the Southland, it is one big city," Garcetti said.

All cities must work together to beat out competing regions, according to the mayor.

"We have to get our act together in order to win," Garcetti said.

Garcetti's term as chair of the Metro LA board began July 1 and runs through June 30, 2015.