INVESTING IN METRO ORANGE LINE IMPROVEMENTS

During the drafting phase and lead up to measure M, Blumenfield remained hyper-focused on ensuring that improvements to the Orange line were not only included in the measure, but front funded.  As the Chair of the Valley Council on Governments (COG) transportation committee, he held multiple hearings where he pushed this agenda.  Consequently, Metro will upgrade the Orange Line to improve speed and capacity by adding railroad-style gating at all crossings, grade separations, and they will convert their fleet to quieter electric buses. All of this happens during the first few years of Measure M spending and during the years the dedicated busway will be converted to a light rail project. The overall project is funded with $320M in Measure M dollars and SB1 funding.