|
|
|
|
|
|
Santa Monica City Council Member Pam O’Connor Will Chair Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Board of Directors
“In the coming year, Los Angeles County faces many challenges as we strive to improve mobility for the region through implementation of various transportation improvement programs. I look forward to leading Metro on a course that encourages people to ride share with carpools and vanpools or take public transit whenever possible,” said O’Connor. “As Chair of the Board of Directors, I look forward in continuing the Board’s ongoing work of addressing these challenges head-on, improving our vast network of buses and trains and encouraging transit oriented developments around transit hubs to bring people closer to their place of employment,” added O’Connor. “It can go a long way at reducing traffic making communities more livable and it’s good for the environment.” She noted that her special focus will be on Metro’s environmental sustainability initiatives to address climate change. O’Connor, a member of the Santa Monica City Council since 1994, has lead efforts on developing policies and partnerships that create and enhance community livability, economic vitality and environmental sustainability. She has served on Metro’s Board of Directors since 2001 representing the Westside and South Bay cities whose combined population approaches 1 million. In addition, O’Connor represents the City of Santa Monica on the Exposition Light Rail Construction Authority Board, which is dedicated to building a light rail system from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica. Phase one of that project broke ground in 2006. O’Connor works on policy issues with the League of California Cities, the National League of Cities, the Local Government Commission and the American Public Transportation Association. Since 1997, she has been a member of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) and is Chair of their Regional Comprehensive Plan Task Force. As a professional planning consultant, O’Connor specializes in historic preservation and has worked on significant historic building projects throughout Southern California. She has served as the Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Northridge earthquake recovery partnership program, as a planner for the City of Pasadena and as a research associate for the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan. She holds masters’ degrees in planning and in technology management from Eastern Michigan University and a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from Southern Illinois University. She is an enthusiastic urban explorer, a strong advocate for public transit and a regular user of public transportation. The 13-member Metro Board of Directors is comprised of all five members of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, four members appointed by the Los Angeles County City Selection Committee, the Mayor of Los Angeles, and three mayoral appointees. Metro is one of the largest transportation agencies in the United States and provides more than 85 percent of all public transit in LA County. It operates the Metro Bus system, which consists of more than 2,200 peak-hour buses covering a 1,433 square mile service area. Metro also operates the 73.1-mile Metro Rail system which includes the Metro Red Line and Metro Purple Line subway and the Metro Blue, Green and Gold light rail lines. Metro also operates the Metro Orange Line, a 14-mile long dedicated transitway in the San Fernando Valley. In addition, Metro is overseeing construction of the six mile Eastside Extension of the Metro Gold Line to East LA. As the region’s primary transportation planner and programmer, Metro also funds such programs as the region’s paratransit services, bikeways, street and freeway improvements and the Metro Freeway Service Patrol which aids stranded highway motorists free of charge. Metro-118 EDITOR’ NOTE: Photo available upon request. Mail to:mediarelations@metro.net
Copyright © 2008, LACMTA | Privacy Policy |
