Senate stalled on subway bill

The U.S. Senate still has not taken up the proposal to lift the ban on subway tunneling over Wilshire Boulevard. Today, the City Council urged quick action, which is necessary before planning for the long-dreamed Subway to the Sea can begin:

The Los Angeles City Council went on record today in support of federal legislation that would lift tunneling restrictions along Wilshire Boulevard, making it possible to extend the Metro Purple Line west. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, was approved by the House of Representatives on Feb. 7, and is now being considered by the U.S. Senate. The House of Representatives also approved the same bill last September, but the Senate failed to act before Congress adjourned. "To deal with the traffic that we have here in Los Angeles, we are going to have to look at a variety of ways in which we increase public transportation," said Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, chair of the council’s Transportation Committee. "The time has come, and we’re looking forward to this being approved." (CNS)

Comments

[Richard H]

Since the DC Metro has been mentioned, it should be pointed out that it's political backers in Congress have been pushing to get more federal funding for the aging system. Not for new lines or cars, just more financial support for the existing system. In 2005, Representative Tom Davis of Virginia introduced bill H.R. 3496, which offered WMATA a ten-year federal funding infusion worth $1.5 billion. It passed the House but died in the Senate. It does not appear that the bill was reintroduced in 2007.

Then there's $11 billion that some people in Congress want for Amtrak.

And of course, Second Avenue Subway (whick looks more and more like a bigger financial boondoggle than the Big Dig) and other big ticket transit projects for New York City that are being touted by Senators Charles Shumer and Hillary Clinton of New York.

Federal money for a WIlshire Blvd. Subway? Take a number and get at the end of the line.

[David in Los Angeles]

Henry Waxman is such an idiot. Every time I'm on the Santa Monica Frwy during rush hour, I think of him blocking the construction of the subway down Wilshire. What a joke. The subway should have been completed years ago, with many more lines in the works. I was in Washington DC last summer --- there's a metro that actually goes somewhere (and in the "federal district" wonder where that money came from). Their density is no greater than Los Angeles.

[Anthony Fernandez]

Why is this bill still stuck in the Senate Committee on Transportation? This is ridiculous. It is one of the most important bills that they have and they do nothing with it.

[Tom A.]

In the meantime, why not hit the folks on the Hill up for funding for the dirt-cheap-by-comparison Gold Line Foothill Extension? And ignore that pitiful 9,500 boardings-a-day estimate; the real life figures will probably be at least 50% higher.

[Bob Zwolinski]

It warms my heart that Los Angeles finally has a Mayor that knows that a world-class city needs a world-class transit system and is fighting to build this great transit system in our lifetimes!
It’s a shame L.A. had to endure a generation of the Wilshire subway being stub-ended at Western.
Hopefully, the U.S. Senate will approve the bill lifting the tunneling restrictions ASAP after it reconvenes.

But then again, then there’s the fight for funding, then the fight with the NIMBYs.
Heaven help us if the BRU keeps mouthing off, wanting yet more crawling buses.

The NYMBYs have nothing to fear regarding tunneling. Tunnel boring technology has greatly improved in 17 years since the last piece of dirt was removed from the NoHo tunnels. There was no surface-movement of any kind done by the twin boring machines on the Eastside line.

Let’s get the Wilshire subway extension funded and built as soon as possible!

We needed it 40 years ago when it was 1st being planned. Traffic has gotten just a bit worse since then. Don’t you think?

[Richard H]

See what happens when two NORTHERN CA politicians of little influence or notice have secure seats in the Senate.

Why didn't this bill go to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works chaired by Barbara Boxer of California instead of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs chaired by Christopher Dodd of Connecticut? Wouldn't it seem that a bill concerning a major public works project that would have a major impact on the Los Angeles environment go to a committee so named?

And who is on the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs? Charles Schumer of New York. After Harry Reid, probably the most powerful man in the Senate. What does Charles Schumer want? Federal funding for New York City's Second Avenue Subway that has just begun construction.
Would Charles Shumer want any competition for funding of his subway?

I don't see much chance of Henry Waxman's bill getting out of that Senate committee this session.

Better luck next year. Or the year after that. Or the year after that...

The prohibition on subway construction on Wilshire Blvd. will probably stay for years. At least until the Second Avenue Subway is completed.

Still, I smell political subterfuge by somebody with the initials "HW".