Los Angeles Metro Releases First Quality of Life Report

In 2008, L.A. County voters approved a half-cent sales tax that funded a host of transit projects, including this year's extensions of the Expo and Gold Lines.

Now Metro has released a report measuring the impact of those transit investments on life in Los Angeles.

It shows that more than 22 percent of the county now lives near rail, a rapid bus line, or commuter rail.

It also shows that since passing the measure, Metro has received significantly more money from state and federal grants—up from $112.9 million in 2008 to $522.9 million in 2014. That's in addition to the $3.9 billion generated directly in sales tax revenues (up to 2014).

"The lesson: having local money is the key to getting state and federal money," writes Metro's blog editor Steve Hymon.

Metro is preparing to place an extension of the sales tax, which expires in 2039, on the November ballot, along with a successor that would raise the tax by an additional half-cent.

The report will be expanded this year, and Metro will issue Quality of Life updates every two years going forward.