Earlier this year, City Councils from neighboring cities approved the formation of the Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority (AVCJPA) and have begun work on the first five-year funding plan for the Joint Powers Authority Multiyear Sub-Regional Program (MSP).
The Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority (AVCJPA) consists of the cities of Burbank, Glendale, La Cañada Flintridge, Pasadena, and South Pasadena and the unincorporated communities of Cresenta Valley/Montrose within Los Angeles County.
Funded through the voter-approved sales tax, Measure M, the Arroyo Verdugo Communities Joint Powers Authority must create their multiyear sub-regional program to determine what projects to fund in the first five years.
Measure M is the Los Angeles County Traffic Improvement Plan and the Joint Powers Authority has been formed for the cities to come together and decide how best to spend the funds.
“They’re looking at this from a regional approach,” explained John Pope, the public information officer for the City of South Pasadena. “They’re looking at things that can make a difference in the region in how the projects intersect, looking at safety, relieving congestion and a whole list of things.”
A survey can be found on the City of South Pasadena’s website seeking input from residents on prioritizing traffic concerns. “It is traffic safety, is it congestion?” asked Pope. “There’s a whole list of what people can concern themselves about. Then there’s a whole list of what you would prioritize. They’re still very much in the input gathering (mode).”
Pope invites the public to complete the form.
Along with relieving traffic congestion, the JPA, among its tasks, is looking at increasing travel by transit, bicycle and pedestrian modes, improving environmental quality, supporting goods movement, and cutting down on travel times.
During Wednesday’s City Council meeting, the council voted 5-0 to approve a draft project list “but there are going to a lot more steps in this process,” explained Pope. “It’s all very preliminary.”
