Cheviot Hills Confidential

The civil war in Cheviot Hills over the Expo Line extension is examined in depth by The Times' Jean Guccione and Jeff Rabin. For years, many outspoke residents opposed using an old right of way (left) in the upscale community for the Culver City-to-Santa Monica run. But now, even some Cheviot residents are breaking ranks, saying the proposed alternative of routing around the district seems wasteful. Two quotes from the story seemed to sum up the conflict:

"It seems to make the most sense because the right of way is there already. Why not just utilize that asset?" -Resident Christopher La Farg.

""Do you think the people who live in Cheviot Hills are going to take this bloody train? "No, they are going to get in their cars. The people who are going to use this are the people who work in the hotels in Santa Monica, and they are going to come from the Hispanic areas nearer downtown. Now they take the bus." -Benjamin Cate, a former Cherviot homeowners association president.

What do you think? Hit the COMMENT button below and have your say!

Comments

[kal davis]

I live in Venice and work Downtown LA
We need the lite-rail NOW !
I would love to ride the train to and from work!
As alot of other people too-
New free-ways is not the answer-
Get the rail going right down the middle of the 10 freeway-
Forget the non existing car pool lanes-
We need a modern city like every other
city in the world-
Oh and what about the gas prices here-Way more than any other place in the US!
Whats Wrong?

[Benjamin Brown]

Why do you think these projects take forever to debate and build? 1984 Big Brother is here with this RFID, microwave subliminal, social eugenetics and bio-chip implants. Trying to figure out a way out of this morass, rapidly approaching the day when the masses will work for nothing except for their 1000 calories a day and relief from neck implant attacks, is the issue. PT (public transportation) is merely a parallel issue within the secret socio-matrix dynamic.

[Robert S. Hoover]

Where do you think that existing right-of-way came from?

Los Angeles once had one of the finest light rail systems in the world, only to have the fat cats conspire to replace it with the fatally flawed concept of 'personal transportation.' (Dig it out; makes for some interesting reading.)

Now that the chickens are coming home to roost it's ironic to hear the fat cats complaining.

-R.S.Hoover

[Yu-Han]

Um, sorry, having just moved here from the east coast (Boston), I can readily attest that east coasters exhibit just as much NIMBYism as west coasters. Boston's MBTA is almost about to open a new commuter rail line, and it was held up for years due to folks not wanting the train to travel along un-used tracks behind their backyards. Eventually the MBTA had to build a tunnel through one town, and promise a bunch of mitigation measures. Never fear, NIMBYism is everywhere. :-)

I suppose the exception to transit NIMBYism might be people who already live in dense urban environments, and would love having a new subway around, like, say, the 2nd Ave project in Manhattan. But Cheviot Hills looks more like suburbia than a dense urban neighborhood. So of course they'll tend to act that way...

[Kyle]

I agree with Jeff, it is fear that is driving them. I don' t understand the west coast mentality with public transit. People on the east coast would kill for a house within a few miles of a commuter train that goes downtown. The only logical argument they can use is that the density along Venice/Sepulveda is higher. But the fact that it is longer, more expensive, and there is already a direct, existing right of way easily trumps that. Noise and safety is no different than a major blvd.

[RB]

Shame on Benjamin Cate. Does he think the people who work at the Santa Monica holels don't deserve to ride the more efficient light rail car? Does he think just because they earn less money they should be limited to riding a crowded bus subject to traffic? Why should only his rich neighbors get the luxury of easy transportation? Why does he assume that only "those people" will ride through his neighborhood? I hope Banjamin isn't being racist. I can assure him that I don't work in those Santa Monica hotels, I can drive my own car, and I will ride the light rail trough his neighborhood when it's built.

[RB]

It appears to me that the majority of the people of LA want this line built and want it built along the ROW. Why are we allowing a few people to de-rail this wonderful win-win project? Aren't we a country of democracy, compromise and majority-rule? Some of the people of Cheviot Hills worry about property values. But other areas of the city are seeing rejuvenation and increased property values along some of the other light rail lines. Look at areas such as Hollywood and Vine, where a new W hotel is being built, or North Hollywood, where condos are being built, not to mention downtown LA, downtown Long Beach. I challenge Cheviot to prove through examples that light rail has hurt property values.

[Wad]

Mr. Cate, you just made a big mistake.

Like it or not, the Expo Line issue now has a race and class element. In the debate, race and class issues are fair play.

[Benjamin Brown]

I can understand the People of Cheviot Hills not wanting more Israeli checkpoints in their backyards.

[Michael]

The panama canal is going to be rebuilt faster than we can build this train on an existing ROW. That is sad. We need to stop wasting money on freeways. It is so much cheaper and easier to add capacity to a rail line than to add a lane on a giant freeway. It might be initially expensive to do this but we will save money in the long run in many ways and Los Angeles will be a better place to live. Imagine an LA where people couldn't complain about the traffic or the air quality.

[Jeff Gross]

I saw Benjamin Cate's comment in the article and I was shocked, but not really surprised. He represents a view that mass transit is for "those people" - you know, the ones too poor to have a car.

I live in Mount Washington, near a Gold line station, and don't fit the demographic to which Cate is referring. But like a great number of LA residents, I'm dying for a real alternative to get crosstown besides taking the 10 freeway. I would eagerly take the Aqua (Expo) line to get to Santa Monica and other Westside destinations for work and play.

The Expo right of way is an asset that belongs to all of us, not just those that live near it. It provides the fastest and cheapest Aqua line route, and thus is the route that best serves the purpose of mass transit - moving people around efficiently as part of an integrated system.

Most of the opposition I hear about using the Expo right of way seems based in fear. Not just concern about the real effects of having a light rail pass through (or alongside) the neighborhood, but real fear.

I'm so glad that local groups like Light Rail for Cheviot have formed to counter the fear with information, and just as importantly are focusing on mitigating potential problems like the need for grade separation at Overland and Westwood. I sincerely hope that the route ends up looking as good as some of the sketches I've seen.

Now I'm just wondering why this line can't be built faster. 2013-2015? We've won wars in less time than this. The next step is to figure how to get this project ready to go as soon as the route is selected.