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A Rough Road to Gold, Part 4: Gold Line Finally Arrives in East Los Angeles

By Gloria Angelina Castillo, EGP Staff Writer

Brightly colored confetti filled the air as the Gold Line light-rail train made its official, albeit staged, grand opening journey to East Los Angeles last weekend. For some, the event marked the end of a decades-long struggle to bring train transportation to the Eastside. For others, it marked the beginning of a new era of opportunity and a connection forged in steel to the world beyond East Los Angeles.

The official opening of the Edward R. Roybal Gold Line Eastside Extension/La Línea de Oro to East Los Angeles was a two-day affair. It started Saturday with a gathering of just about every elected official with ties to the project or constituencies in the area serviced by the new rail system. Special invited guests from local groups, members of the community advisory committee, as well as a large contingent of Metro employees from the CEO on down, were also at the ceremony held at the East LA Civic Center. And wanting to be a part of the historic occasion, nearly all of them had something to say.

On Sunday, 75,000 passengers rode the train for free along the entire line from Pasadena to East Los Angeles, and attended a series of concert and special activities at four of the stations on the new route.
Reverend Monsignor John Moretta of Resurrection Church in Boyle Heights, lead one of two invocations at the ceremony and Art Herrera, Review Advisory Committee Co-chair and war veteran, lead the pledge of allegiance, on Saturday.

Among other things, the event was a tribute to former Congressman Edward Roybal who passed away four years short of witnessing the grand opening of the rail system named in his honor. His daughter Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D- Los Angeles), said that while the day of celebration is special for everyone present, it was especially meaningful to her and her family.

“On behalf of my mother, my brother, my sister, our children and grandchildren, and the many family members who have traveled across the country to be here today, I thank you for the recognition and tribute you’ve made to my father by naming the eastside extension the Edward R. Roybal Gold Line and the station at 1st and Soto in his honor,” Roybal-Allard said. “As a loyal public servant dedicated to the country, the state, and our community, my father would have taken great pride in your victory today… we thank you for celebrating this momentous occasion with us and for demonstrating that his spirit is ageless and his community organizing and legislative accomplishments timeless. In closing, I extend my most sincerest congratulations to our community and to my father who I know is listening right now, I say ‘Pop job well done.’”

Los Angeles County Supervisor Gloria Molina called the day “bitter-sweet” because Roybal, who always fought for the eastside during his 30-years in the U.S. House of Representatives, did not live to see the light-rail construction completed. She said, however, that it fills her with joy to see the rail line finally up and running.

“It’s a good thing he was so determined because unfortunately, it’s taken generations to build the eastside extension. It took so long in fact that some of the people responsible for seeing this project to fruition, including the congressman, have passed on. But our community did not give up, and like any fight that is worth fighting, we always knew it was going to be a struggle,” Molina said. “But we also knew how critical it was to bring high quality mass transit to the eastside. And not just because it was going to bring jobs and economic activity to the entire community, which we know it certainly will do and is already doing—but those of us that fought for the Línea de Oro understood that the eastside extension is not just a train, it represents a promise made to this community decades ago, that we made it our mission to fulfill.”

Molina called La Línea de Oro “the long awaited jewel in the civic center crown.” She said it would give Eastside residents new access to jobs, schools, medical centers, shopping, entertainment and cultural opportunities throughout the county.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa called Roybal “without question, the strongest advocate on the federal level” for the Eastside, adding that Roybal-Allard had made her father proud. He also gave credit to former Congressmen Esteban Torres and former state Assemblyman and L.A. Councilman Richard Alatorre for their contributions. He said, however, that one person deserved special recognition for bringing the project to fruition.

“You know someone who is still here with us, who has been there in a way second to none, is Supervisor Gloria Molina. She is one, one tough cookie,” said Villaraigosa. “But one thing we can never question is her passion for the community she represents. She has been there dogged, like a ferocious guard dog if you will, protecting and fighting for this community.”

Congresswoman Judy Chu (D- El Monte) thanked Molina for never giving up. “Even to this day she is still fighting for safety issues, you are truly amazing,” said Chu, adding her voice to the chorus of speakers during the three-hour long ceremony that singled out Molina for special praise.

Molina, Villaraigosa and Roybal-Allard also recognized the RAC members for their years of dedication overseeing the planning and construction of the eastside extension.

“My heartfelt thanks go to you the area residents community leaders and the Review Advisory Committee, many of whom have been involved in this project for over 15 years,” Roybal-Allard said.

“Reaching today’s milestone is largely due to your commitment, determination and perseverance, and working through countless hours of meetings and delicate negotiations… You … endured years of inconvenience and disruption as a result of the construction, and you overcame what at times seemed insurmountable obstacles. The value of your contribution to our community is reflected in the stories of Ramona Opportunity High School. Because of you, with the support of LAUSD, Metro and the LA Board of Supervisors who made the difficult decision to advance the needed resources, we have a new and better school.”

RAC Co-chair Diana Tarango told the audience she was young when she first joined the committee, but “now I’m a senior citizen.” Tarango recalled the years of struggle, the committee’s trip to Sacramento with Molina to meet with Torres, and their protests against Prop A in the 1990s.

“Here I am today, a senior citizen thanking everyone who was involved and everyone who said ‘Si se puede’,” she said, thanking Luz Maria Chavez and Frank Villalobos of Barrio Planners Inc. among others. “… I promise you, as Art Leahy [Metro CEO] has promised, the RAC will continue, we have safety issues to think about, we want to make it safe for the pedestrians, the people who drive through here.”

MTA and its principal contractor, Eastside LRT Constructors, were praised for finishing construction without any loss-of-time accidents in over three million working hours.

Metro expects the eastside line to eventually carry 13,000 riders a day.

The mayor said Measure R will fund a dozen new rail projects in the next decade and will increase transit access to jobs and activities for Los Angeles residents throughout the county.

Assemblyman Mike Eng was one of the last speakers and probably summed up the next chapter of public transportation on the eastside the best.

“Que viva la Línea de Oro! Onward and eastward!” Eng concluded.

Among those in attendance were Congresswoman Grace Napolitano (D-Santa Fe Springs), (CD-14) Councilmember and Metro Director Jose Huizar, Councilmember Ed P. Reyes (CD-1), and former Congressman Esteban Torres.

Click on the links below to read the first three parts of the series.

Part 1: ‘Years of Funding Fights Result in Above-Ground Light Rail,
Instead of Subway.’

Part 2: It Took a ‘Pueblo’ to Build Eastside Gold Line

Part 3: The Eastside Gold Line: A Window Into the Community

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