Directory:

Welcome: Michael H. Momeni, the Workshop Organizer

• Temecula Infrastructure Development: Matt Rahn, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Temecula
• Riverside Transit Agency: Eric Ustation, Government Affairs Manager

Program:

1. Geotechnical consideration for the development

John Rogers, P.E., F.ASCE Los Angeles Section President2.

2. Regional geopolitical considerations for the development

James J. Cunningham, Senior Partner of the Law Offices of J. Cunningham

3. The Next Generation Rail Study and the Countywide Long Range Transportation Plan

John Standiford, Multi-Modal Service, Deputy Executive Director of Riverside County Transportation

Commission (RCTC)

4. Los Angeles-San Bernardino Inter-County Transit and Rail Planning Study

Stephen G. Fox, Project Manager, SCAG

5. High-Speed Rail Development from Ontario to San Diego

Michelle Boehm Southern California Regional Director California High-Speed Rail Authority

6. Workshop Closure: Discussion, Questions, and Answers

Supportive documents

Riverside to San diego Commuter Train: A summary of cost and benefits for electric train system

Michael Momeni

Financing options for commuter electric trains connecting Riverside and San Diego through the Temecula Valley

Scott Smith

Pictures captured during the workshop

photographer: Laurie Webster

Regional Transportation Workshop Program

10:00 AM Michael Momeni, Sierra Club, Santa margarita Group

Opening the workshop, Introduction

Matt Rahn, Mayor Pro Tem, Temecula

Welcome to Temecula, State of Our Transportation

Eric Ustation, Government Affairs Manager

Riverside Transit Agency

program

Five specialists will present a technical, political, and economic basis for the development of a commuter train system. The speakers will address the following issues:

1. Geotechnical consideration for the development

John Rogers, P.E., F.ASCE Los Angeles Section President

2. Regional geopolitical considerations for the development

James J. Cunningham, Senior Partner of the Law Offices of J. Cunningham

He is specialized in Government Labor Law for Public Safety Unions throughout the State of California. He is an expert in Board Governance for public and private sector businesses and associations in California, Lecturer, and teacher. He is a member of Metropolitan Transit Systems (MTS) Board, San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board (alternate), and SANDAG Borders Committee (alternate).

Unfortunate car accident did not permit James Cunningham to attend the workshop.

3. The Next Generation Rail Study and the Countywide Long Range Transportation Plan

John Standiford Deputy Executive Director for the Riverside County Transportation Commission

John Standiford was appointed to the position of Deputy Executive Director for the Riverside County Transportation Commission at the beginning of 2008. John joined RCTC in 1999, serving as the Commission’s Public Information Officer. Prior to joining RCTC he was the Manager of Media Relations for the Orange County Transportation Authority where he was employed for more than seven years. Earlier in his career, John worked for three state legislators from Los Angeles County.

John’s education background includes a Bachelor’s Degree in Social Ecology and a Masters in Business and Public Administration from the University of California, Irvine. John is a lifelong resident of California.

12:00 PM (noon) lunch and intermission ( lunch and beverage would be provided, hostess: Jo Ann Momeni)

12:30 PM: continuation of the formal presentations

4. Los Angeles-San Bernardino Inter-County Transit and Rail Planning Study

Stephen G. Fox, Project Manager, SCAG

• Steve Fox has over 25 years of experience in transportation planning, analysis and scheduling; with additional experience in air quality/transportation analysis and land use/sustainability planning.

Steve is currently a Senior Regional Planner for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), specializing in regional transit planning and analysis. Current projects include preparation of the passenger rail, congestion management and TDM elements of the SCAG 2020 Regional Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy, which provides a blueprint for transportation improvements and sustainable growth in SCAG’s region encompassing six counties, 191 cities and 18 million residents. Steve also is managing several transportation and land use planning projects throughout SCAG’s region including TOD planning, transit improvements, and first/last mile planning.

Prior to joining SCAG, Steve worked for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Orange County Transportation Authority, holding a variety of positions in short and long-term transportation planning and analysis, scheduling, and congestion management. He also has worked for several private companies providing various types of public transit services including smart shuttles and paratransit.

Steve has a Master’s degree in public administration from the University of Southern California, a B.A. from Western Michigan University, and resides car-free in Long Beach, CA.

5. High-Speed Rail Development from Ontario to San Diego

Michelle Boehm Southern California Regional Director California High-Speed Rail Authority

As Southern California Regional Director for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, Michelle Boehm oversees strategy, stakeholder outreach, and related elements of project development for over 300 miles of the planned all-electric High-Speed Rail system in the Southern California Region’s five project sections: Bakersfield to Palmdale, Palmdale to Burbank, Burbank to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Anaheim and Los Angeles to San Diego.

Closing of the Workshop: discussion, questions, and answers

2:00 PM End of the Workshop

Synopsis of the presentations

John Rogers, P.E., F.ASCE Los Angeles Section President

James J. Cunningham, Senior Partner of the Law Offices of J. Cunningham

John Standiford Deputy Executive Director for the Riverside County Transportation Commission

Stephen G. Fox, Project Manager

Los Angeles-San Bernardino Inter-County Transit and Rail Planning Study

The Los Angeles and San Bernardino Inter-County Transit and Rail Planning Study (Inter-County Study) is being conducted by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) in coordination with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and the San Bernardino County Transportation Authority (SBCTA).

The Inter-County Study focuses on the transportation corridor that connects the eastern San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County with the western San Bernardino Valley in San Bernardino County, and includes the Metro Gold Line Foothill Extension Phases 2B (Azusa to Montclair) and 2C (Montclair to Ontario International Airport), the Metrolink San Bernardino and Riverside Lines, and current and future HOV/Express Lanes on the I-10 San Bernardino Freeway. The Inter-County Study area includes portions of the cities of Claremont, La Verne, Montclair, Ontario, Pomona, Rancho Cucamonga and Upland.

A number of significant transportation improvements are under construction or are being planned in this corridor, including the Metro Gold Line extensions to Montclair and Ontario International Airport (ONT), improvements in speed and service to the Metrolink San Bernardino Line and new HOV/Express Lanes on the I-10 San Bernardino Freeway that will result in continuous HOV/Express Lanes from downtown Los Angeles to Redlands allowing for additional express bus services. Therefore, the main goal of the Inter-County Study is to determine the optimum mix and service levels of light rail, commuter rail, hybrid rail, express bus and bus rapid transit (BRT) in the corridor. Hybrid rail is the technology to be used on the planned Redlands Passenger Rail Project (or Arrow service) in San Bernardino County.

The Inter-County Study’s main tasks include:

• determining the current and future transit and rail travel markets in the corridor, including intra- and inter-county travel and travel to and from ONT;

• estimating potential ridership, and the current and future transportation and economic benefits and costs associated with different transit and rail improvement options for the corridor; and

• recommending the optimum mix and service levels of the different transportation modes for cost-effective transit and rail improvements, with a focus on coordination and connectivity that best serves the transportation needs of the residents, workers, and businesses in the Inter-County Study corridor.

The project webpage can be found at: http://www.scag.ca.gov/programs/Pages/InterCountyTransitRail.aspx

Michelle Boehm

Southern California Regional Director

California High-Speed Rail Authority

High-Speed Rail: Connecting & Transforming California

The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority) is responsible for planning, designing, building and operation of the first high-speed rail system in the nation. The system will run from San Francisco to the Los Angeles basin in under three hours. The system will eventually extend to Sacramento and San Diego, totaling 800 miles. This transformative investment will connect all major population centers in California, tie local economies together, provide new mobility options, establish long-term economic growth, and help revitalize station areas.

Investment in the nation’s first high-speed rail system has already created jobs and generated economic activity in numerous ways. Over 630 different high-speed rail contractors have hired workers throughout the state and these contractors have in turn paid suppliers for goods and services, resulting in further economic growth for each of the state’s metropolitan areas. Together, these direct and indirect impacts have induced wider economic activity by putting money back into California’s local economies.

The Los Angeles to San Diego project section via the Inland Empire is part of Phase 2 of the California High-Speed Rail system. It will connect Los Angeles and San Diego in just 1 hour 20 minutes, and close the existing passenger rail gap between the Inland Empire and San Diego County. Conceptual alternatives along the approximately 170-mile corridor are currently being evaluated. Stations are being considered in locations including Ontario Airport, San Bernardino, Riverside, Corona, Murrieta, Escondido, and San Diego.

For the Los Angeles to San Diego section, the Authority has been coordinating regularly with metropolitan planning organizations, county transportation commissions, transit operators, counties, cities, and local stakeholder agencies. Topics of discussion have included the California State Rail Plan, potential corridor alignments, opportunities for shared corridors, station area development, and options for phasing. Collaborative, complementary planning with other regional service providers is the key to having all services operate in an overall, integrated network that provides the most efficient, reliable choices for travelers and supports the highest level of mobility.

Riverside to San Diego Commuter Train

A summary of costs and benefits for commuter electric train system

Michael H. Momeni, PhD

@advocateElectricTrain

Hop on, East Ontario-Riverside to San Diego Using Commuter Train

As you might be aware, we have been pushing for the creation of a commuter electric train connecting Riverside and San Diego through the Temecula Valley. But why are we strongly advocating it? A list of the significant reasons would include:

A. Jobs and Commuting: We need an adequate income to support ourselves and our families, ideally working in a position commensurate with our education, training and experience. We need more than a minimum wage to pay for living expenses such as rent or mortgage, transportation, food, and various types of insurance. Many higher paying jobs are located close to major urban areas. Unfortunately, our region provides only a fraction of the jobs needed to support our population.

B. Housing and Schools: The cost of housing in metropolitan Los Angeles and San Diego is extremely high. Many of us opted to live in the Temecula Valley region because the cost of housing was still affordable. Families could live in an area with good schools and easy access to stores and medical facilities.

C. Societal Impacts: When we commute by car to our employment a significant distance away, we pay a high price in terms of time away from family, friends and the community. Some of us commute in excess of three hours each day and also put in eight or more hours at work. Our time on congested highways exhausts us, depletes our energy and often robs us of our patience and good humor. When we allow ourselves to think about being away from our families for eleven or more hours a day, five days a week, we might feel resentful but also helpless to change the routine. Moreover, commuting is expensive; the costs of a personal car, fuel and maintenance can be a large share of our income. However, commuting allows our families to live in better homes and surroundings, so often the trade-offs seem necessary.

At present, many of us have no choice but to use our personal car to commute to a job a far distance away. We simply don’t have feasible alternatives.

D. Environmental Impacts:

We must also consider the physiological costs that a polluted environment incurs when cars on our congested highways spew toxic exhaust. These pollutants damage our personal health, including heart, lungs and nervous system. It is a well-documented fact that automobile exhaust is responsible for many medical and psychological diseases we have been experiencing in our modern society. Aaron Reuben’s article, “This is your brain on Smog (July/August 2015, Mother Jones), provides a highly persuasive assertion that pollution contributes to inducing many neurological problems, including dementia. The recent article in Los Angeles Times by Tony Barboza and Jon Schleuss (March 2, 2017) indicates that “L.A. keeps building [dwellings] near freeways, even though living there makes people sick. Are you one of the 2.5 million Southern Californians already living in the pollution zone?”

We need to consider how the Bullet Train (http://www.hsr.ca.gov/) will impact this problem . It is the system now under construction that will connect San Francisco to Los Angeles with a future option to connect to San Diego through the Inland Empire. By design, the Bullet Train will have infrequent stops and would connect only major cities on its route. Otherwise, it wouldn't be capable of reaching the intended speed and travel time of 220 miles per hour. It will reduce travel time between Northern California and Southern California, supplementing air travel. Because of its high speed and infrequent stops, the Bullet Train cannot be considered a regional commuter train.

A Commuter Train is a Necessity in the Inland Empire

A commuter train system would ideally serve each city from Riverside to San Diego and would need to operate frequently between early in the morning to late in the evening.

Benefits:

It would stimulate economic development within the corridor. It would reduce the use of Interstate 15/215 by single commuters. It would link to the existing commuter train services both in San Diego and Los Angeles counties. It would improve air quality within the region by removing a large number of commuter cars from the highways. It would improve the safety and quality of life for commuters.

Many cities already have opted to provide a mass transit system to commuters. Rapid electric commuter trains are common in many major cities in the world and some of our own major cities. What does it take to create such a system operating between Riverside and San Diego?

We must demand that our elected local and the state government officials start planning, designing and constructing an electric commuter train system connecting East Ontario/Riverside to San Diego.

Financing options for commuter electric trains connecting Riverside and San Diego through the Temecula Valley

Scott Smith

CIM: Conscious Investment management

Historically, rail projects have been funded through national, state, and local government budgeting, bonds and taxes. Additionally, public-private partnerships are becoming more common with some rail projects funded entirely through private means. There have been many creative solutions to providing passenger rail solutions in the U.S. The bottom line is, where there is a will, there is a way. Finance is about what we are going to do next. Californians know that the next step for our transportation needs should be heavily weighted towards sustainable, efficient and enjoyable electric trains. The following are examples of areas to look at for funding opportunities:

State

1. Tax-Free Municipal Bonds: Revenue and/or General Obligation bonds. Bonds can be issued for financing the first stages of development. After parts of the train system are operational and producing positive cash flow, these cash flows could be used as a basis for additional financing.
2. 2008 CA bond measure 1A Safe, Reliable High-Speed Passenger Train Bond Act for the 21st Century
3. Proposition 1B – Public Transportation Modernization, Improvement, and Service Enhancement Account and Intercity Rail Improvement Program.
4. SB1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017: Matching funds for local agencies, new funding to transit agencies, local planning grants, and transportation-related research at state universities.
5. Cap and Trade proceeds. Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) aka CA Climate Investments Program
6. State Budget funds
7. State Public Transportation Account (from diesel fuel tax partly)
8. State Transportation Improvement Program funded partially from the State Highway Fund
9. State Rail Assistance – California State Transportation Agency (CALSTA)
10. State Transit Assistance (STA) from Transportation Development Act (TDA)
11. State fuel taxes and fees
12. Section 190 of California Streets and Highways code grade separation program supports railroad crossings.
13. Automatic Grade-Crossing Warning Device Maintenance Fund – Caltrans, administered by CPUC

Federal

1. Railroad rehabilitation and improvement financing (RRIF) loan administered by the federal railroad administration
2. Federal Fuel taxes;
3. Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) programs
4. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds
5. Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement Act of 2008 funds
6. Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act Section 1105 and 1116 funds for highway-rail grade crossings.
7. Railroad Safety Risk Reduction Program (Section 130) funds for protective devices at crossings
8. Federal Transit Administration – 50% matching grant for partnership structure. FTA Sec 5311
9. Federal Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants
10. Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Grants

Public-Private Partnerships

1. Private developers help fund or donate right-of-way, stations and/or contribute to the overall capital costs. They would then gain a concession of the long term operations.
2. Secondary use of the system right of way to provide optical fiber communication connectivity.
3. Initial Public Offering, now is a good time with high equity valuation multiples.
4. Private Company actions: Dallas to Houston line, Miami to Orlando line.
5. Sovereign wealth funds, pensions and endowments. For example, TIAA which manages almost $1 Trillion in retirement funds for academic and government fields has this as its core principle: “TIAA’s responsible investment capabilities are designed to seek competitive returns while promoting broad economic development, positive social outcomes and a healthier environment.” - tiaa.org

Local

1. Sales Tax Measures – ex. Santa Clara County for BART, Stanislaus County Measure L, Los Angeles County Measure M
2. Property Tax – ex. BART Region
3. Parcel Tax Extension – ex. Alameda and Contra Costa Counties
4. Propositions – ex. San Francisco Prop J created transit improvement fund.

As we can see, there are many funding options for commuter electric trains connecting Riverside and San Diego through the Temecula Valley. With the strong will in California for sustainable, efficient and enjoyable electric trains; the probability of travel by train through Temecula is very likely in the foreseeable future. Let’s make it happen!

Pictures captured during the workshop

photographer: Laurie Webster