First published in the July 30 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
The city of Glendale has been selected to receive $34.6 million from the California State Transportation Agency’s transit and intercity rail capital program to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions in the region.
The funding will support “Making a Beeline for Electrification” in Glendale and the Arroyo Verdugo communities to move toward electrification through the Cleaner Transportation project, which will electrify the Beeline and La Cañada Flintridge transit fleets. It will also increase ridership by improving the transit rider’s experience and change behavior by creating a Climate Mobility and Safety App to provide transit riders with climate impact information.
The project also improves connectivity with regional bus and commuter rail services. Combining the deployment of battery-electric buses with increased ridership will substantially reduce greenhouse gases in the region, where the communities bear a disproportionate burden of the effects of particulate matter on residents’ health.
“I’d like to extend my deepest gratitude to the California State Transportation Agency. Not only will battery-electric buses benefit residents in underserved areas, but [they] will also help to reduce GHG emissions and provide the Glendale community with cleaner air and improved quality of life,” Mayor Ardy Kassakhian said. “The TIRCP funding is essential to meet City Council’s priorities of environmental stewardship, infrastructure and mobility.”
