Congressman Brad Sherman - Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 22, 1998

SHERMAN ANNOUNCES FUNDING FOR PCH SAFETY IMPROVEMENTS AND $6 MILLION FOR SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS

(Washington) Congressman Brad Sherman announced that Congress approved $650,000 for safety improvements on the Pacific Coast Highway today as part of a bill to fund transportation projects for the next six years.

"Too many lives are being endangered and lost on the PCH," said Sherman. "This money, combined with state and local funds, will go a long way to making the Highway significantly safer."

Of the funds set aside for Malibu, $600,000 is to help the city pay for improved safety on the PCH, with a focus on medians on the Highway. The other $50,000 is to help pay for a low-frequency radio station to broadcast travel and traffic conditions to travelers on and near the PCH, explained Sherman.

In addition to the funding for Malibu, Sherman secured $950,000 for the Warner Center Transportation Hub, $300,000 for Smart Shuttle busses in the West Valley, and $8.1 million for street improvements and bike paths in the San Fernando Valley, Thousand Oaks, Calabasas, Oak Park, Agoura Hills and Westlake Village.

Sherman also secured $6 million to buy land and build trails in the Santa Monica Mountains.

"The National Park Service will determine how the money should be spent -- which land to buy and which trails to build," said Sherman. "The highest priority is the Backbone Trail, but we already secured funds for that in the Interior Bill. Unfortunately, the Interior spending is being held up -- not just our project, but the Everglades, Yellowstone and Headwaters Forest -- $699 million of priority environmental land acquisitions around the country."

"Once the 1998 Interior Appropriation is unstuck, we will have $5.5 million to buy the land under the Backbone Trail. Then this $6 million in new funds could provide $200,00 to physically construct the Backbone Trail and $5.8 million to buy land and build trails branching off the Backbone Trail," said Sherman.

"I worked closely with local elected officials to identify those areas in which scarce federal transportation resources could be put to the best use," said Sherman. "My requests, and the decisions of my colleagues in the House of Representatives, were based on those discussions."

The bill, the Building Efficient Surface Transportation and Equity Act (BESTEA), sets most federal spending on transportation for the next six years, explained Sherman.