Immediate Release
Nov. 7, 2006

Southern California will be in Dire Straits Without Adequate Infrastructure Improvements, says Southern California Leadership Council

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Led by four former California Governors, SCLC launches campaign

to inform public about SoCal’s transportation infrastructure needs.

LOS ANGELES – The already congested Southern California highway system will only get worse unless adequate infrastructure improvements are made now, says the Southern California Leadership Council (SCLC). The SCLC has launched a public education campaign in its efforts to find a solution for helping the region’s highway and freight transportation infrastructure keep pace with the region’s expected population growth of five million people over the next 20 years.

“The dire straits the state is entering has become so readily apparent to the political leadership in Sacramento that the state legislature has put two propositions on the statewide ballot this November addressing the state’s transportation needs – Propositions 1A and 1B,” said Robert Wolf, SCLC co-chair and president of Germania Corporation, a Southern California land development and construction company.

Proposition 1A will prohibit the state sales tax on motor vehicle fuels from being used for any purpose other than transportation improvements. While Proposition 1B is a $19.9 billion bond act to make safety improvements and repairs to state highways, upgrade freeways, repair local streets and roads, upgrade highways along major transportation corridors, reduce air pollution, and improve anti-terrorism security at shipping ports.

“There is no quick and easy solution to our transportation problems,” said Wolf. “But we have to make consistent, forward progress if we are to avoid complete gridlock. Over the coming months the Southern California Leadership Council will work to educate the public about the importance of making changes to the way goods are transported as well as the need to further invest in the state’s transportation infrastructure.”

The Southern California Leadership Council believes that, along with general highway expansion and improvements, moving the more than a million freight trucks off the highways and transporting those goods via rail will both increase highway capacity and lessen commute times.

“Shifting our freight and goods movement from trucks to rails is one huge step in solving the highway transportation crisis Southern Californians face during every morning and evening commute. The movement of goods and containers to and through Southern California is expected to triple in the next 20 years. Left unabated, the region’s quality of life could be irretrievably harmed,” said Lee Harrington, executive director of SCLC and former president and CEO of Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation.

Harrington also noted that “every truck bouncing along our freeways is equivalent to 2.7 cars. If we moved that freight by rail, we could increase our current highway capacity by some three million vehicles. Plus, we’ll have the added benefit of greatly reducing emissions, traffic congestion, and all the undue wear and tear on the roads caused by truck traffic.”

About Southern California Leadership Council

The Southern California Leadership Council is a business-led-and-sponsored public policy partnership for the Southern California region. The Council provides proactive leadership for a strong economy, a vital business environment and a better quality of life for everyone who lives here. Founded in 2005 as a voice for the region's business community and like-minded individuals to focus and combine their efforts, the Leadership Council's objective is to help enable public sector officials, policy makers and other civic leaders to address and solve public policy issues critical to the region's economic vitality and quality of life. The Council is comprised of business and community leaders from throughout the seven counties of Southern California and four former California governors.

For interviews or more information about the Southern California Leadership Council, please contact George McQuade, 818-340-5300 or 818-618-9229, or visit www.MayoCommunications.com or www.MayoPR.com.

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