The first meeting of the Santa Clarita Valley Transportation Coalition was held at City Hall yesterday, kicking off a new transportation group representative of businesses, schools, City, County, State and Federal representatives for the purpose of working on furthering local transportation-related plans and issues.
The goals and objectives of the new Coalition, which was approved by the Santa Clarita City Council last spring at the request of then Mayor Marsha McLean, include functioning as an advisory, information-sharing and strategizing body for decision-makers regarding transportation needs that impact the Santa Clarita Valley.  The Coalition will also be called upon to advocate for transportation projects at the local, Regional, State and Federal levels on behalf of the community to provide a unified position on significant transportation projects and needs that affect the Santa Clarita Valley.  “The vision for the new Coalition is to be strategic in our advocacy of transportation funding and projects that make sense for Santa Clarita.  This will better position our community to receive coveted transportation dollars and projects,” said Santa Clarita Mayor Laurie Ender.
The Coalition includes representatives from the offices of Federal and State Senate and Legislative offices, the County of Los Angeles, including the 5th District and Public Works, College of the Canyons, the William S. Hart Union School District, the Newhall, Sulphur Springs, Saugus Union and Castaic School Districts, Metropolitan Transportation Authority, Golden State Gateway Coalition, The Walt Disney Company, Caltrans, the Santa Clarita Valley Chamber of Commerce, the Building Industry Association, the SCV Economic Development Corporation, the Valley Industry Association and a local transportation consultant.
Santa Clarita City Councilmember Marsha McLean welcomed the group and thanked them for attending, which was followed by introductions and a discussion about the Coalition’s mission, goals, objectives, regional, state and federal future transportation plans, and an overview of the City/County general plan and circulation element.
The Coalition agreed to meet quarterly and noticing will be provided through the City of Santa Clarita.  For more information regarding the new Transportation Coalition, contact Ian Pari at: ipari@santa-clarita.com.