Getting ugly on Expo Line

Tempers flared outside the Westside gym where neighbors gathered Thursday night to examine giant maps of proposed routes for extending the Expo Line from Culver City to Santa Monica.

Darrell Clarke got the brunt of it. He is chairman of the Friends 4 Expo Transit, a decades-old advocacy group that has led the charge for building a light-rail line along the old Southern Pacific railroad tracks. For many Cheviot Hills homeowners opposed to the running a commuter train in their neighborhood, Clarke was the first person they saw. He had a card table set up at the gym entrance to answer their questions.

As Clarke announced his affiliation, a short, gray-haired man shouted back: I’m with Friends Against Expo. And so it went. Inside the gym, a young mother, on the verge of tears, debated a man whose red t-shirt urged others to ride the subway. She was upset about her 5-year-old’s safety if the train someday runs near her home.

It will be at least a year before transit officials choose a route.

--Jean Guccione

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

Comments

[Sheryl]

They may be low-density residential areas NOW, but so were Wilshire and Santa Monica Blvd 50 years ago.

RAIL LINES ARE NOT BUILT FOR EXISTING NEEDS. RAIL LINES ARE BUILT AS 100-200 YEAR INFRASTRUCTURE!

There are rail lines all over Europe (and European cities!) that are well into their second century of use, and which right of ways will probably endure another century or more of use. There are rail lines all over THE EAST COAST that are well into their second century of use that will see the same thing!!

It's absolutely stupid to compare rail lines and their "expected" level of use and buses and their CURRENT level of use the way the NIMBY's and the BRU do.

For one thing, the only rail line close enough to a bus route to make the comparison is the Green Line vs. bus routes 120 and 121 that service Imperial Highway. That's hardly a representative sample.

But guess what?

The 120/121 buses are slated to have all Sunday service canceled in the June 2008 shakeup, because the Green Line is sucking up all the Sunday customers! In point of fact, weekday/Saturday service is no longer arterial service as it was designed to be--it's all feeder service to the Green Line! The Imperial buses USED to be as big a nightmare as the Wilshire buses--now, it's rare to have to stand, outside rush hour.

So even the ONE example available shows clearly that RAIL IS THE PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE!!!!!!!!!

Can the rest of us sue Cheviot Hills??

[roy]

yes we need the expo light rail line to santa monica. but a trouble some young lawyer named damien goodman is caused trouble for halting this wonderful rail line. with his fileing a law siute with the puc . our wonderful ex mayor bradley who work very hard to bring rail transit back to los angeles . if he could see what a mess this lawyer is makeing he would turn over in his grave.. he gone throughout the niebourhood causeing troule even meeting at a nieghboure hood church screaming and jumping up and down with a group of nimby's out of control trying to hamr and get new suporters to harm such a good rail line shame on him . that suports the wonderful rail project every body should contact the calfornia state bar and see how mean this lawyer is. trying to attack this nice transit railine for exposition blvd. let's examine his credablity. . at the county boad meeting he's dissordily his conduct are wicked he unruley. and he just trying to make a name for him self by tareing up and haltting a wonderful rail project. the late mayor bradley who be angry at damien good.man and kids must be educated some of them know what trains are some of them know that there is a metro blueline that is running . so education is the key factor so schools teach them safty. educate them on raillines. kids are no fools they no what train are . wake up damien stop hold up mayor bradley dream for los angels. we got to stop fighting one another and get on with the progress of running this nice rail system to santa monica

[Greg Mantell]

Trains ran through Cheviot HIlls on this ROW for years. What we are talking about is re-activating the ROW, not putting in something that was never there.

[John Thompsen]

Sorry I cam across as anti-transit in my first comment. Wha t I was trying to say is that it does not make sense to run train lines through areas that are single family and that will not be redeveloped with high density . If you drive the Expo line, there is little density along the entire ROW - and not likely to be much increase. LA has 18 million people and the dense parts should be connected with train lines - underground. Surface trains that compete with autos just don't work here. By the way, I live in the Wilshire corridor and am eager for the Purple line to be completed.

[D]

Yes John Thompson, Santa Monica, Expo Park, USC, Downtown LA< Culver City, Close proximity to Venice, Palms, Mid City, all nowhere. Where do you idiots come up with this stuff? seriously. you fu^%kers make my blood boil. i wish i could ship all of you Nimby idiots out of LA, which by the way has 18 million in the metro, meaning its not exactly a small town. You are living in a HUGE CITY. get used to it or get out. Jesus.

[Jason Saunders]

I look forward with eager anticipation to the day the Exposition line travels to Santa Monica. I think it will increase property values near stations because people will want to live near viable public transit. If funding is available the line should be grade separated as much as possible to avoid situations like that on the Gold Line where train speeds slows to a crawl. It is these slow speeds that hurt the Gold Line's ridership.

I'm not sure which alignment is better but it should be that which serves the greatest good.

[John Doe]

I want to close the I-10 freeway off-ramp to LaBrea. I am worried about my kid's safety, if they wonder onto LaBrea.

[Wad]

The Blue Line in Long Beach has several schools along the train service. And there have been no problems of children crossing the tracks unsafely or horseplaying.

The accidents on the Blue Line have been caused by automobiles trying to beat the train.

Never mind the children. It's the adults we have to worry about!

[Jose Habib]

People who bought houses next to a railroad track shouldn't be surprised to see a train go by.

[R. Russell]

I know Aussies whose 4th grader used to take the train to school. What kind of feeble children are they raising there in Cheviot Hills?

[nicholas simon]

I am encouraged by the number of people who dream of and are vocal about alternatives to cars with solutions that are for "the good of the community."

[JoeQuality]

The ROW through Cheviot Hills will have so much space that it will include bike, stream, and jogging paths. How can those people complain about such a wonderful opportunity?
If a child can safely cross the four-lane Overland Blvd, they surely can watch for a 3-car train, which is safely behind those said paths.
Let more people see the value in letting the Expo Line be build according to its rightful route along the ROW through Cheviot Hills.

http://www.friends4expo.org/images/daylightstream490.jpg

[Eric Mankin]

In context, the fears about children are stranger. A big point of worry is the school on Overland Avenue which would be close to a crossing point (and possibly station) for the Expo line. Overland at this point is a four-lane high speed arterial, running right past the school Why a train — most likely not running at gradem but above or below -- would be more dangerous than the highway is completely mysterious.

Also neglected is the opportunity. Kids at that school could get on the train to go directly to Exposition Park, the science museum, natural history museeum,, etc. But instead of looking at possibilities, it's Danger Will Robinson!

[RB]

Cities such as New York, San Francisco and Chicago have had trains serving an array of neighborhoods for over a hundred years. Do the people of Cheviot Hills think that all of the safety features developed and enhanced in all of those years won't be applied to the Expo line? They worry about their kids' safety so they pick on the trains. Are they not concerned about their precious kiddies breathing in wonderfully polluted LA air and developing asthma, or other breathing problems? Back when LA had over 1100 miles of red car tracks, people of LA welcomed the trains with civic pride. People of Cheviot obviously only have pride in themselves and obviously don't care about anyone who lives outside of their neighborhood.

[joe]

Looks like NIMBYism is the latest MTA talking point.

[Max]

Seriously, can we just forbid the folks in Cheviot Hills from speaking in public?

Why on earth would we let a bunch of whiny, rich NIMBYs make life hell for the rest of us. You don't like the fact that mass transit that will improve life for LA's citizens is coming to (a very small part) of your neighborhood? Then sell that big ol' Cheviot home and use the proceeds to move someplace nice and transit-and-minority-free, like Palmdale or Coto.

[yvannka]

God forbid brownies ride the train through Cheviot Hills and cause mayhem in the pristine n-hood. But wait a minute, don't brownies already carpool, ride the bus to clean your houses, babysit and feed your kids and work on your yards?

[Bob Zwolinski]

I grew up in Chicago, where grade-level, heavy-rail local trains and commuter rail lines have run for over 100 years. By the time I was 5, my parents taught me the common sense to stay clear of the trains.

Sheesh… Give me a break! There’s only 1400 ft of the right-of-way running through Cheviot Hills. Safety features, like a 5-to-7 ft-high fence along this section of the right-of-way will prevent unruly kids from playing on the tracks.
There have been no problems with minors in Highland Park or South Pasadena having been hurt on the Gold Line when running at-grade.
I’m sure the children in Cheviot Hills and Rancho Park can be educated well enough as to not play on the tracks as well.

I honestly do not understand this NIMBYism… I am a Santa Monica homeowner and I own 2 cars. I would pay top-dollar to be living within 1 mile of one of the stations!
I’m sick and tired of driving in this town!

We need this rail line to go through to Santa Monica and to be as fast as possible.

I’m sure that every possible potential problem or safety hazard for the original PE right-of-way alignment option will be effectively mitigated.

Bob Zwolinski
Santa Monica

[Michael]

The truth is the purple line should be the rail line being built right now to santa monica. WIlshire boulevard already has the riders. Needless to say this city needs SOMETHING as soon as possible from the west to the east. Having a right of way already there makes this a no brainer! Of course you put it there. In a perfect world the expo line would go to Venice or Marina del Ray and the purple line would go to santa monica. Then these lines would be connected by a sepulveda line that runs from sherman oaks to the airport. The reason not enough people take the trains is that they don't serve enough areas. If you build only one line they won't come but if you properly serve the city with multiple lines they will come in droves.

On a side note: Does Mr. Thompson really think Santa Monica and Culver City are nowhere?

[John Thompsen]

The Expo Line is an even more gigantic waste of money than the Gold Line. It goes nowhere , serves mostly low density residential areas which are not zoned for higher use. It is a case of "If we Buid it, we HOPE you will use it," but don't count on it.

[Shaun]

Do these same people in Cheviot Hills against the rail line complain about traffic too? I guarantee you they do. The same people who complain about traffic yet are against alternatives to gridlock. I am so tired of all these NIMBY residents that jack up the cost of these projects. Just build the rail line b/c a lot more people support it than oppose it. Don't let a few naysayers ruin a great project like this.