Planners: S. Calif. needs $531 billion for transport systems

Planners: S. Calif. needs $531 billion for transport systems It may require more than gasoline or container taxes to come up with the funds needed to fix Southern California's transportation infrastructure woes, according to a regional planning group.
   The Southern California Association of Governments said Friday that Southern California will need $531 billion over the next 30 years just to keep up with the 6 million people expected to migrate to the region during that period. The group, which represents six of the seven Southern California counties, estimates that $40 billion alone is required to fix infrastructure such as bridges, and maintenance problems such as potholes.
   The group said new taxes, tolls and user fees will be required or the region will face serious congestion and maintenance issues of area bus, highway and rail systems.
   SCAG, the largest U.S. metropolitan planning organization, is promoting its latest 30-year transportation plan to deal with its predicted increase in traffic for the region. In addition to calling for additional taxes and feeds, SCAG is also calling for increased private-public partnerships to raise capital for projects.
   The full SCAG transportation plan can be viewed at the group's Web site at www.scag.ca.gov/index.htm.