Christopher Hawthorne at the L.A. Times says that the Republican rise to power will likely spell doom for Mayor Villaraigosa's request for a federal loan to speed up transit construction. Still, he writes, the work will go on.
Hawthorne surmises that incoming Speaker John Boehner of Ohio will likely channel transportation funding to a more "suburban-rural focus," which could also sink California's high-speed rail program.
But, Hawthorne writes, there is some reason for transit supporters to be comforted: "...the basic funding for mass transit in Los Angeles is firmly in place - thanks to 2008's Measure R - and therefore largely protected from the chill of fiscal austerity descending on Washington, even as the pace of subway construction may speed up or slow down."
Hawthorne also points to a recent MTA vote to approve a new subway line on Wilshire Blvd. as a reason to rejoice.
FULL STORY: Critic's Notebook: How Tuesday's election affects L.A. transit projects
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