Appointment boosts LACMTA expansion

A top adviser for Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will be transferred Jan. 4 to a new job aimed at bringing a light-rail system to Los Angeles and L.A./Ontario international airports, the Los Angeles Times reports. Deputy Mayor Diego Alvarez will serve as the regional transportation coordinator for Los Angeles World Airports, which operates both airports, according to Villaraigosa's office.

Alvarez will develop plans
with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to extend the Metro Gold Line to
the Ontario airport. Recent talks have discussed extending the Gold Line from
Montclair – its planned end point – to Ontario International.

The MTA board this month
signed off on a plan to link the Green Line and the Exposition Line. There
would be a proposed stop at Century and Aviation boulevards from which LAWA
would connect passengers to LAX via a bus or tram.

This will be Alvarez’s
second stint for LAWA. He worked for several years as the executive assistant
for government relations. Two years ago, Villaraigosa appointed Alvarez deputy
mayor of legislative and intergovernmental relations. He served as chief
liaison to federal, state and local government agencies. Alvarez, a graduate of
George Washington University Law School and UC Irvine, held similar government
liaison roles during under mayors James Hahn and Richard Riordan.