Thursday, August 22, 2013

City Participates in CMP for Another Year

Traffic in L.A. can be a challenge.  (Tell me something I don’t know, right?)  Home to more than 9.8 million people, Los Angeles County is the most populous in the nation.  Aside from the ability to chant “We’re #1!” and wave those funny foam fingers at people living in other parts of the country, this distinction makes driving around the L.A. area quite a challenge. 

In response to the growing annual gridlock, a majority of cities across L.A. County collaborate in something called the Congestion Management Program, or CMP.  Voted into existence in 1990, the CMP is a slice of the statewide gas tax pie, dedicated to transportation relief efforts.  Handed down from the State to counties then from counties to cities, in football speak cities receive CMP funding by way of a double handoff.  Hut, hut, hike!

Monrovia has participated in the CMP program since its inception.  Earlier this August, City Staff presented a CMP update to City Council as part of an annual public hearing requirement of the program.  Council moved to approve the City’s participation in the CMP program for another year.  Following Council’s approval, the annual reporting documents were sent to Metro, the CMP administrator for Los Angeles County.  Metro also approved the City’s CMP documents, which means that Monrovia is in good standing for another year.  Hooray!