Group gets $1 million to build public shuttle from Pasadena into Angeles
0For the first time in 130 years, forest lovers might once again ride public transit into the Angeles National Forest, a vast area of mountains, hiking trails, creeks and pine-shaded picnic grounds that make up almost three-quarters of Los Angeles County’s open space. Because the only way to reach the 700, 176-acre green space towering above Los Angeles is by car. Access is denied to underserved county residents who don’t own a car or have no access to a private vehicle. To change that, U. S. Rep. Judy Chu, D-Pasadena, presented the nonprofit Nature For All a check for $995, 000 on Aug. 28 to begin planning and building the Mount Wilson Express Shuttle, a van or bus service starting from the Metro L Line (Gold) Memorial Park Station in Old Pasadena and connecting to western forest locations. It is the most money received by the nonprofit in a single grant. Chu also placed a request for $750, 000 in the 2023 House of Representatives appropriations bill, which would raise the shuttle program’s funding to $1, 745, 000, if approved. Early plans call for a regular, weekend shuttle that will take passengers on the 210 Freeway to Angeles Crest Highway (Highway 2), with forest stops at the Mt. Wilson Observatory, the Haramokngna American Indian Cultural Center at Red Box, Clear Creek Information Center, and trailheads at Eaton Saddle, Colby Canyon and Gould Mesa, explained Bryan Matsumoto, program manager for Nature For All.“It would be a multi-stop route that will give the public a lot of options, ” he said. “It won’t only serve the hard-core hiker. You can bring your family for a picnic at Switzer or folks can go to the observatory where they have the Cosmic Cafe. ” The observatory also has been holding classical music concerts. The observatory telescopes were used by astronomer Edwin Hubble to first observe and prove that the universe was expanding. A Hubble Telescope exhibit at the observatory museum ends on Sunday, Sept. 18. The shuttle service will not be as dramatic as the first public transit venture into the San Gabriel Mountains, namely the Mount Lowe Railway, which operated in Altadena from 1893 until 1936. The winding train trolley ride hugged the side of the mountain, as white-knuckled passengers clung to the seats and electric cars climbed from the San Gabriel Valley floor to resorts and picnic spots high up in the forest’s front range at Echo Mountain.“We are talking about creating L. A. ’s first public transit to the San Gabriel Mountains since the Mt. Lowe Railway more than 125 years ago, ” said Matsumoto. “They managed to do this in 1893, and that included constructing funiculars up the mountain! Surely we can get a bus. ”But starting the first public transit system in more than a century to reach into the federal forest will not be easy. First, Matsumoto said the group must hire a design firm to plan the route and design the shuttle stops. These would include benches, shelters and new way-finding signs.
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Article Link: https://www.dailynews.com/2022/09/19/group-gets-1-million-to-build-public-shuttle-from-pasadena-into-angeles-national-forest/
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