Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan
2016 Voter Guide
Measure A
Measure HH
Measure HHH
Measure JJJ
Measure LV
Measure M
What’s the proposal?
Measure M would hike the sales tax in Los Angeles County by a half cent to pay for some major public transit projects, including extending light rail to LAX and bringing the subway to Westwood. Revenue would also fund street and sidewalk repairs throughout the county, new bike paths, and earthquake retrofits for bridges.
Measure M would be a continuation of an earlier half-cent sales tax passed in 2008, which would otherwise expire in 2039. The Measure M sales tax would continue until voters decide to end it.
Metro estimates the sales tax will bring in $860 million yearly in revenue. That money would be used to fund planned transit projects into the year 2062.
Some of those projects include:
Connecting the Metro rail system to LAX
Extending the Purple Line subway into Westwood
Connecting the Crenshaw Line to the Red Line in Hollywood, with a transit corridor through or near West Hollywood
Creating an underground transit corridor through the Sepulveda Pass, connecting the Orange Line in the San Fernando Valley to the future Purple Line stop Westside expansion, and eventually to the LAX Airport Metro Connector
The creation of several Bus Rapid Transit Lines in Santa Monica, the Eastern San Fernando Valley, and on Vermont Avenue, with the possibility of converting these Bus Rapid lines into light rail in the future
In addition to rail and bus projects, Measure M would also fund improvements on I-5, I-405, I-605, I-710, I-110, and other freeways.
Who’s behind it
The elected officials who comprise Metro’s board of directors, including Mayor Eric Garcetti. Metro has allocated $10.9 million from its 2017 fiscal budget to promote the measure. "The people running the Measure M campaign are Garcetti[’s] people. Its spokesman is his former spokesman, Yusef Robb. Its strategist is his strategist, Bill Carrick," reports the LA Weekly.
The back story
The age old tale of Los Angeles traffic remains a concern as the number of people living here continues to climb. Once considered mid-century marvels, some of LA’s freeways now claim the title of longest work commutes in America, and local roads are in a sad state of disrepair. Measure M aims to simultaneously address traffic woes, while providing transit options that shift LA away from its longtime car culture.
Arguments for
It would radically transform the state of public transportation in Los Angeles County on an accelerated timeline.
The half-cent sales tax would be a modest financial burden for LA County residents. At a half cent on the dollar, we’d pay $5 in taxes for every $1,000 we spend in Los Angeles County.
A Cambridge Systematics study on Metro’s plan that found that by 2057, commutes for county residents would be 15 percent shorter than they are likely to be if voters reject Measure M.
Measure M would continue the legacy of its predecessor, Measure R, which has given the area its popular new Expo and Gold Line expansions, adding 31 new stations to Metro’s light rail system.
Metro claims Measure M would create 465,690 new jobs throughout the county.
"To tackle our traffic crisis head on, we must trade slow and steady for bold and decisive. We must create a truly complete system that serves the needs of all commuters today, but also anticipates the riders of tomorrow ... We must put adequate funding in place to ensure our transit system remains functional for generations to come." - Mayor Eric Garcetti in an op-ed piece for the LA Times
Arguments against
City officials in the South Bay and Southeastern LA County say Measure M won’t bring enough projects to their communities. The South Bay Cities Council of Governments and the Gateway Cities Council of Governments oppose the measure.
The South Bay Cities Council of Governments says a sufficient environmental review of the Sepulveda Pass Transit Corridor has not yet been completed, even though Metro has earmarked $6.5 billion for the project.
Measure M prioritizes glamorous rail projects in the city of Los Angeles that smaller LA county cities would pay for but largely wouldn't use
Measure M’s lack of expiration date has some critics calling it a forever tax. Getting rid of it would require a countywide vote.
In spite of Measure R, Metro’s ridership is down. (However, that’s in line with national trends, and researchers and experts have argued that freeways have also been expanded in the time that new transit lines were built and that for many residents, driving and parking are still low cost alternatives to using public transit).
"Measure M is a Frankenstein’s monster constructed of various disparate, non-integrated parts with the primary goal of passing a tax, rather than providing the entire county with the best possible, fully integrated mobility system. In fact, the promise of mobility is simply being used to get more money. - Beverly Hills Mayor John Mirisch in an op-ed for Huffington Post
Links
Metro's LA Transit Wishlist Has Something For Everyone [Curbed LA]
A New and Improved Wishlist for Public Transit [Curbed LA]
See the very optimistic new campaign ads for Measure M [Curbed LA]
L.A. County residents need alternatives to sitting in soul-crushing traffic. Vote yes on Measure M [LA Times]
Everything You Always Wanted to Know about the Forever Tax, LACMTA’s Measure M, but Were Afraid to Ask [Huffington Post]