SGV Connect

This week SGV Connect checks in on the community of Alta Dena in unincorporated Los Angeles County and on how changes at the California Transportation Commission are leading to big changes in how the state funds transportation projects.

First, Kris talks with Dorothy Wong, Altadena town council member about building partnerships and using tools like UC Berkeley's SafeTREC Street Story to advance active transportation efforts in this unincorporated part of Los Angeles County. Street Story is free web-based community engagement tool that the public can use to "collect information about transportation collisions, near-misses, general hazards and safe locations to travel."

In our second interview, Damien talks to Melanie Curry the editor of Streetsblog California. Curry listened in on last week's CTC meeting breaking news that the Commission is planning to ask for $2 billion to fund the Active Transportation Program in next year's budget. This would be a 1000% increase over the usual allocation that is roughly $200 million.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

On this week's SGV Connect, Kris interviews Dan Lafferty, Deputy Director and Paul Alva, Assistant Deputy Director at the L.A. County Department of Public Works about the Bassett High School Stormwater Capture Project.

Currently, DPW is reaching out to the community about the project and is encouraging residents and other stakeholders to complete a survey to help them best prioritize what the project will look like.

In partnership with Bassett Unified School District (BUSD), the project will divert urban and stormwater runoff into infiltration galleries underneath Bassett High School athletic fields. Other above ground improvements can be included such as low-impact-development features which will complement the Amigos de los Rios' urban greening project. In addition, a pocket park at the corner of the school athletic field is being proposed as a joint use feature with the community.

In our second interview, Damien talks with Diane Velez with Active SGV about Metro's fareless transit pilot program. In 2022, Metro will be offering fare-free transit to seniors, students and people with lesser income to test the impacts of not charging people n the LA region to use transit. The program could be expanded to cover more groups of people and more agencies. Quick note: during the interview we discuss whether or not Foothill Transit is doing its own study. While they are not, Doran Barnes, the CEO of Foothill Transit is on the committee that will be reviewing and studying Metro's pilot project.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Welcome to this week's SGV Connect. It's a long podcast, so let's get right into it!

The Los Angeles County Flood Control District is currently working on a plan to open up more than 138 miles of SGV waterways to bicyclists and pedestrians. With the plan expected to be completed by Fall 2021, and the environmental review process being completed by Summer 2022, the San Gabriel Valley Greenway Strategic Implementation Plan would create a roadmap toward increasing open space in SGV communities and connecting to Rio Hondo and the San Gabriel Valley River. We spoke with Dan Lafferty, deputy director at Los Angeles County Public Works, about the study of these greenways, how equity is being framed in the work, and some of the community engagement strategies that will be happening in the future.

Second, Damien speaks with Rani Narula-Woods at Metro about the new Metro Micro project in El Monte. Metro's new ride-hailing service that offers shared rides operated by Metro employees in partnership with RideCo., Inc.. Metro Micro rides cost an introductory rate of $1 per ride (transfer not included) for the first six months. Rides must begin and end within each zone. For more information, visit these article at Metro's The Source or the Los Angeles Daily News.

You can also check out this video for information on how to get the apps on your phone and access the service.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Welcome to the first SGV Connect Podcast of 2021. In this week's episode, Kris speaks with Alhambra Mayor Sasha Renée Pérez before Kris and Damien give a preview of what to look forward to in 2021.

On November 3rd, 2020, Sasha Renée Pérez was elected to Alhambra's City Council. Because she beat the incumbent Mayor, she took over her predecessor's term as mayor making her at 28 years old the youngest female mayor in San Gabriel Valley history. In addition, she's also the youngest woman to serve in the city's history. Pérez ran on a progressive platform, touting complete streets, including preventive measures to traffic safety such as bike lanes and speed bumps; pushing for renters protections and policies that prevent displacement, and establishing a climate action plan. In our conversation, we delved into the weeds of her policy platform, got her take on the defund the police movement, and how she sees community engagement as central to creating a more equitable city.

If 2020 were a year like no other, then 2021 looks to be just as unprecedented both locally and across the country. Damien and Kris stalk about some local stories that may have fallen through the cracks such as an opportunity to weigh in on projects such as the North Ave. Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Plan in Pasadena. But 2021 needs to be about more than just projects and proposals; it needs to be the year that cities and government agencies look at the experiences of 2020 and react. What our cities learn from the pandemic and the unrest will determine whether or not society grows as a result of this hardship or just "returns to normal" in a way that continues to marginalize and disenfranchise many. SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Goodbye 2020! Man, I've been waiting a long time to type that, and it felt good.

This week's SGV Connect features a look back at the best and worst of our coverage in the San Gabriel Valley in 2020. Kris gives a surprising answer to "what was your favorite story" while Damien gives a hopeful look forward to 2021.

But first, Damien interviews Pomona Mayor Tim Sandoval. Sandoval is taking leadership roles with the Foothill Gold Line Board of Directors and the San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments in 2021 and the discussion ranges to cover both local and regional issues.

This is our last podcast of 2020. Thank you all for listening, we've doubled our audience since last year at this time! We hope you all have a safe and happy winter holiday and New Years celebrations.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Everyone is talking about the results from this week's election, and SGV Connect is no different. Our usual team brought back Streetsblog LA editor Joe Linton and Streetsblog California editor Melanie Curry for an in-depth election special that is almost twice the size of a regular episode.

First, Melanie breaks down the disappointing results of our statewide ballot initiatives with defeats for progressive measures that would funded public schools by closing a loophole on big business, expanded rent control, and allowed for affirmative action. At the same time, voters passed a measure exempting Uber/Lyft and other app-based driving services from labor laws.

The scene is brighter for Southern California and the San Gabriel Valley. Joe and Kris discuss the success of Measure J, elections that will make the L.A. County Board of Supervisors and L.A. City Council more progressive, and some mixed news in races in some smaller cities in the SGV.

Last, assuming Joe Biden holds onto his lead, what does a Biden administration mean for Southern California? And what are the odds that Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti or Long Beach Mayor Robert Garcia find themselves with new addresses in Washington, D.C.?

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

If you're looking for a distraction from the deluge of election related messaging and media, this week's SGV Connect is for you. If you're looking for more news, views, and insights into the election, you should check out our last episode which covers the Streetsblog L.A. endorsements.

In our first interview this week, Kris talked with Araceli Hernandez, a program organizer with Nature For All, to talk about its leadership academy, a 5-month training program that tries to develop the next generation of environmental stewards. The program is intentional in recruiting folks that come from Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, but the program is open to all. "The goals are that you just have a real big passion for making change, for protecting our environment, for making your community better," Hernandez said. The leadership academy started in 2011 and is in its 18th cohort.

Second, Damien talks with Topher Mathers with the Pasadena Complete Streets Coalition about Walktober. While it is true that Walktober is nearly over, there's still a few events remaining. The Walktober events list also provides a great resource for anyone looking to plan some socially distanced walking fun as it includes guided tours, social media driven events and some walks that are just for walkings sake.

Damien and Topher also briefly touch on Halloween and some things that can be done to stay safe and have fun on the holiday.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

Welcome to this week's SGV Connect, a special edition where we discuss some of the state and county ballot propositions that were endorsed or opposed by Streetsblog last week. This week, Damien speaks with Joe Linton, the editor of Streetsblog Los Angeles, about the endorsement process and what ballot measures we think you should support, and another you should oppose.

You can read our endorsement piece, here. For the record we are #YesOn15, #YesOn16, #YesOn21, #YesOnJ and #NoOn22.

Afterwards, Kris speaks with Brian Wallace of the Playhouse Village Association to get an update on the Playhouse Park project which is moving towards getting final approval from the city. The Village Association, back when it was called the Pasadena Playhouse District, first began outreach for this project to the community in 2010, but it looks as though the project is finally close to being realized.

A couple of times in the podcast, we mention this story on Metro's planned expansion of the I-5 and I-605 even though it could wipe out hundreds of homes. It was published late-Friday afternoon, so if you missed it, be sure to check it out.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

In this week's SGV Connect, we get an update on Metro projects in the SGV including the 210 traffic barrier and how faulty dog bones were causing trouble on the Gold Line. But first, Damien talks to Philip Fine with the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) about how to keep your lungs safe as the Bobcat Fire rages.

Fine points out that most of the masks that people are wearing to slow the spread of COVID-19 are effective in stopping smoke and other fine particulates from getting into your lungs when you breathe. If you must go out, Fine recommends N95 masks and that you take extra time to make sure the mask fits properly and is hugging your face.

You can also check out the air quality in your area and the expected air quality over the next 24 hours at the SCAQMD website.

After that, Kris speaks with Errol Taylor, senior executive officer, maintenance and engineering and Androush Danielians, Metro's Executive Engineering Officer at Metro. The wide ranging interview covers both freeway and Gold Line updates in the San Gabriel Valley.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.

This week, SGV Connect looks at studies that examine how Pasadena is reimagining parking in its city and a community spurred project to upgrade and improve Parkway Drive in El Monte. Pasadena has recently launched a study of its parking throughout the city. The study, which will wrap up in early 2021, is looking to create a multi-leveled policy that will address the needs of residents, businesses and the way they move and be adaptable to the areas districts and neighborhoods. "The policies we have been designed with the assumption that one size fits all, and that's not always the case," said Laura Cornejo, Pasadena's Director of Transportation "We want to make sure that we are providing the services that residents need even if it is at a micro-local level." The study is also looking at the new COVID-19 reality on Pasadena's streets and hope the findings could be used to support economic recovery, especially for businesses struggling during the pandemic. Afterwards, Damien speaks with David Diaz, the director of Active SGV. Diaz has been working with students to advocate for a safer and better Parkway Drive in El Monte since 2015. In 2015, students from Mountain View High School and community groups identified the need for improved street design for Parkway Drive that included better lighting, wayfinding signage, improved crosswalks, sidewalks, and bike lanes. Recently, Active SGV and the City of El Monte sponsored a survey to gather input on possible improvements to Parkway Drive. If you missed out and want to make your thoughts known, you can email the team at [email protected].

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. "Foothill Transit. Going Good Places."

Sign-up for our SGV Connect Newsletter, coming to your inbox on Fridays.

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.