Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has certainly fallen short with some of his ambitious agenda items (including his attempt to take over the city's school district). But when it comes to transportation, the mayor has had a dramatic, and lasting, effect.
"Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will leave office Monday with the distinction as the U.S. mayor who, perhaps more than any other in recent memory, has dramatically altered his city's approach to transportation," writes Ryan Holeywell.
"Los Angeles is in the midst of a major expansion of its transit system, which includes subway, light rail and commuter rail lines, that rivals what's being done in any other American city. It's building bike lanes and pursuing a huge bike share program that would make it one of the largest in the nation. It's experiments with congestion tolling are considered on the leading edge of transportation innovation."
"In other words, says [public transit advocate] Denny Zane, L.A.'s got some real transportation 'mojo.'"
Holeywell describes Villaraigosa's major accomplishments, including how he led the passage of Measure R, the half-cent sales tax increase that will raise $40 billion for transportation projects over 30 years.
Read the full story: Villaraigosa Leaves Office with Transportation Legacy
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