Metro Gold Line to Ontario Airport...maybe someday

I missed the meeting, but Claremont Insider linked to the Metro Gold Line Extension to LA/Ontario International Airport Study. (It pained me to type "LA/Ontario International Airport," but I did so in the interest of accuracy.)

The fact page

A 10-month strategic planning study has just begun to evaluate extending the Metro Gold Line from Montclair to LA/Ontario International Airport. The study will evaluate the feasibility of connecting the light rail system to the airport, the best routes to consider, potential station locations, the number of riders that would use the system, and more.

The route options will be narrowed during the study process to identify one or more preferred alignments to connect the light rail system from Montclair to the airport. These options could include stations in Upland, Ontario and Rancho Cucamonga.

Under current requirements set forth by the Federal Transit Administration, it can take up to 25 years for a transit project like this to go from inception to completion. This initial study is the first step in this lengthy process.

Of course, the fact that we have to go to the Feds for funding in the first place illustrates how bizarre our funding system has become. The way in which taxes move from the localities to Washington and back again reminds me of some lines written by David Byrne in "The Big Country":

They grow it in the farmlands
And they take it to the stores
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home

If we didn't send it to Washington in the first place, we wouldn't have to wait 25 years to get it back. But that's just me...