Mayor's effort to fast-track Westside subway faces challenge

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s efforts to fast-track the long-stalled Westside subway faced a challenge Tuesday when a bipartisan group of congressional representatives said the current plan is unlikely to get immediate federal funding.

Villaraigosa has been pushing to have the subway completed in 10 years, more than 15 years earlier than current estimates.

At his urging, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board agreed to submit the subway expansion, as well as a plan to build a light-rail link through downtown, as the county’s two projects to compete against a national pool of federal funding.

But the 14 members of Congress who signed a letter released today said those two programs don’t have a good shot at immediately getting federal funding. Further, they said that L.A. County risks not get anything from the federal New Starts program unless it adds other regional rail proposals, including an extension of the Gold Line in the San Gabriel Valley and a rail line down Crenshaw Boulevard in South L.A. and the South Bay.

“We are very concerned that Los Angeles County is not positioning itself well to receive its fair share of New Starts funding in the near- and long-term,” the delegation wrote. “Metro’s current plan puts the County at risk of being out of the New Starts funding queue for several years, perhaps for the entire surface transportation reauthorization bill.”

The letter was signed by Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), David Dreier (R-San Dimas), Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), Jane Harman (D-Venice) and Diane Watson (D-Los Angeles), among others. The letter underscores a regional battle underway on the MTA board over which transit projects to pursue and how best to receive federal funding for those projects.

Villaraigosa, L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and others are pushing to make the Westside a top priority. Officials have been trying to build the line for decades but have faced numerous barriers, including the estimated $5-billion or more price tag.

Other officials, however, have questioned the logic of only pursuing federal funding for the Westside extension and the regional connector, and say those projects – particularly the subway – are aimed at only pleasing one region while others are made to wait or build projects that are not as favorable.

For example, Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas wants the Crenshaw/South Bay Transit Corridor to be built using light rail, not bus, and said that next month the MTA board will vote on which of the two options to implement. If that project, like the Westside subway, pursues federal funding, the light rail would be more plausible and it would even be possible to build the rail underground in some parts.

 In response to the letter, Ridley-Thomas said that it means “that no one plan should dominate. No one rail line should dominate.”

-- Ari B. Bloomekatz

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Comments

[Brian]

So we finally give them the money and they waste all this time bickering over their own little territories?

Everyone wants to cut a ribbon in front of something in their own district....

This is a waste of time. The TBMs should already be under Wilshire and Western. Instead, more local politics that only hurt the region. Thanks guys.

[Scott Piotrowski]

Not mentioned in the article is Adam Schiff's role in the current 710 debacle. It was his urging and work that brought the funding for the current so-called "route-neutral" geotechnical feasibility study for a 710 tunnel Gap Closure. It is pretty clear that his transportation priority is this Gap Closure, and hence the reason that mass transit and green transportation options are not his priority.

[PERRYinLA]

No discussion of the "Subway-to-the-Sea" issue is complete without mentioning that, in 1985, after the minor (no one died) Ross Store Explosion in the Fairfax District, Rep. Henry Waxman single-handedly got congress to withhold funding for any further tunneling through that district.

If not for his short-sighted overreaction over 29 years ago, we might have ALREADY had a "Subway-to-the-Sea" in operation right now.

THANKS a million, Henry Waxman!!!

[Dave A.]

How about some attention to the San Fernando Valley...?

If you're north of Oxnard Blvd, you can pretty much forget any public transit unless you have a very large amount of time to wait for buses.

Where's the monorail down the 405 to let North Valley residents get to Westwood (UCLA and Federal facilities) and LAX quickly and easily?

Where's the light train to get you from the Northern corners of the Valley to downtown and Union Station and Staples Center areas?

The Valley has 2/3 the population, yet gets 1/10th the public transit investments.

[Paul]

Quit arguing and build it already. People in this city have been held hostage by stupidity long enough.

[Mo]

The Westside subway should be the priority. It's the area of the city that has the most traffic. Alleviating traffic along the Wilshire route would alleviate traffic across the entire county. The Crenshaw line might or might not help. The San Gabriel extension of the Gold Line will be a waste of money compared to the Westside subway. It's already been noted that the Wilshire corridor is one of the most heavily congested areas of the country that doesn't have a viable public transportation option (I don't consider buses going halfway across the city in traffic a viable public transportation option). I don't know why people in authority don't seem to understand these facts.

[Astonished]

Yeah, it figures. Rather than concentrating on fixing the City's very, very serious budget woes, he's trying to influence the Feds to give more money for his pet projects!

[kristin]

I'm glad these members of Congress decided to let the MTA board know that other lines should be included in the MTA plan. The city of Los Angeles is so over-represented on the MTA board that they are willing to pursue the subway regardless of the needs of the rest of the county.

It's time that the MTA board's membership be expanded to represent the people in other parts of LA county.

[Daniel]

I guess Maxine Waters isn't happy with all the money going into the Expo Line that will serve the 35th or the Blue Line that already serves her district.

The Westside Extension is the farthest along of any of the proposed projects of Measure R. The environmental studies are nearly complete, numerous debates and town halls seeking community input have occurred. Business developers are already proposing development around the proposed lines

Building the Westside extension will finally connect downtown with the east side, hollywood, west hollywood, culver city, santa monica and venice.

If they can't see why building the Westside extension first is important than perhaps we need to vote them out.

[Steve M.]

The ineptitude of our elected officials is so frustrating.

If this was communist China, they would just build the thing.

[Joe]

This is crazy!!!! The subway extension and regional connector will easily be the most heavily used lines in the entire system once they are up and operating and will greatly benefit anyone who has to commute anywhere near LA on a daily basis whether by car or rail. The selfishness of those stalling this funding is truely dispicable. It just doesn't make sense to me why we would continue building rail further and further out to the suburbs while completely ignoring major job centers and dense/congested in the heart of the city. Ridiculous!!!!!!

[John McNary]

Ridley Thomas' district got the Green Line, the Harbor Transitway, and the 105. The Westside got nothing.

Schiff's district got the Gold Line northern leg, the San Bernardino transitway expansion, and the Gold Line southern leg. It has extensive Metrolink service. The Westside gets nothing.

Water's district got the Blue Line, the Green Line, the 105, and the Harbor Transitway. The Westside got nothing.

It's time to build the westside subway. It's the west side's turn.

The other projects are all good, all worthy. But not as.

[JNP]

Here it is...in all its glory, the visionless and witless political response to a need that should've been addressed generations ago.

This argument among our elected officials is a symptom of what America has become....A country living on the glory of its past, and no vision of what or where to go in the future. China, Europe and parts of Middle East have far better infrastructure planning than we do. That is pathetic.

Take a flyover of LA basin.....there's a high desnity/ high rise corridor along Wilshire, and clusters of dense employment. residential and commercial in the general Westside area. And where do our esteemed (cough) politicos want these precious transit dollars to go? Of course, they want rail and transit corridors through their far less dense areas, and hell-be-damned to the exisitng crush of traffic that chokes the core signature urban area of L.A.

Mrs Waters....yes, a corridor down through South central to South Bay is a priority.... but a longer term one. It will not help existing traffic conditions in the place that needs it most, and with little new private investment likely to follow any corridor through your district, it's not something that should be considered right now. The Blue Line already goes through the east end of your district and a major busway is along the 110. FACE IT. SOUTH CENTRAL IS JUST NOT A DESIRABLE ENOUGH LOCATION! There are serious economic challenges there that need far more than a transit corridor. If we get only one more transit line in our lifetime, it needs to go to the Westside. Please stop being so stubborn.

A Westside subway will encourage housing and commercial redevelopment in an area that is already desirable and logical.

Let's get this damn rail line built....NOW. And for those living along the corridors who don't want it. Idaho, Montana and The Dakotas are not too far away...please move, and get out of the way of the future. We live in a very large city with a lot of people that have to share the place with you. A transit line is not going to 'ruin' your quality of life, but it will likely improve the lives of those who live amongst you. Your forefathers wouldn't have been so shortsighted. Evolve please.

[DMS]

The west side IS getting mass transit. The Expo line. See map.

So it only makes sense that funding goes to regions without any rail.

It's only fair.

The best solution would be to dump the culver city to santa monica expo extension (after all it was conceived when subways were literally illegal to build in Los Angeles) and focus all the funding and effort on the red line. I know, for a million political reasons, that will not happen.

SO, Santa Monica will just have to wait until the rest of the county has it's fair share before they grab a plateful of seconds.

[ola]

The purple line is critical for a workable subway system in LA. Too many good jobs that define LA ( Mid-Wilshire, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Century City, Westwood and Santa Monica) now and in the future are along this route. Our major cultural museum row ( LACMA:Page:La Brea Tar Pits) is one of the stops. The most respected hospitals (Cedars Sinai, Ronald Reagan Medical Center, GLA Veterans Hospital) in southern california are served by this line. Los Angeles's educational crown jewel, UCLA is a stop. Without building this expensive solution, it seems to me that the County of LA is selling itself short of its vision of being a world class city for both residents and visitors.

[Philip]

>L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and others are pushing to make the Westside a top priority.

Zev's law held back the subway for years. Now all of a sudden he's a supporter.

[Doug]

Excellent expenditure of federal stimulus money in my opinion. This project is only going to get more expensive the longer it is delayed.

[A.Chase]

The West Side rail is crucial as traffic has reached a stand still unlike any other place in the city. At least the mayor is trying to solve a problem that has hit critical mass. These other politicians blocking it are not doing whats best for Los Angeles-- the are just maneuvering for a piece of the pie for their districts regardless if it kills solving a crisis elsewhere in the city. Typical Los Angeles backstabbing politics. It's why nothing ever gets done.

[Igor]

Opposition to the Westside subway is completely absurd. The Westside has the highest employment density outside of downtown. That means that outside of downtown, most people drive to the Westside to work. That's probably why Wilshire is one of the busiest corridors in the entire US. If we are hoping to reduce the amount of cars on the road, we need to build lines where we know people are going.

These politicians need to knock off the provincialism and think outside their little fiefdoms. We don't live in a small town. Our transit situation is regional. They are cutting off their nose despite their face by opposing a Westside subway which will not only benefit the people living near it, who have no fixed transit, but will also relieve smog and traffic for people throughout LA county much more than these other projects would.

[Fed Up]

When you hoodwink the entire county of Los Angeles for such a narrow constituency, what do you expect? The Congressional delegation is looking out for their’s.

[Bud]

Do you enjoy sitting in traffic ? Some days you can watch a snail crawl faster than your car in LA. The west side subway expansion is badly needed. Call your council member and tell them to support the Mayor on this.

[Jung Gatoona]

Let's get this built already, and let's hope we get some more federal funding. Los Angeles has been lagging in the public transportation sector for too long. For example, they are just starting to install turnstiles even though it's been discussed with policy makers for years. Public transportation in LA will be the key player in creating more jobs and getting our economy moving again.

[Timber]

We on the Westside are so totally tired of being passed over for decent public transportation connections. Subway, light rail, whatever. Just do it, and don't pay attention to a few NIMBY's.

[briguyx]

Obviously the representatives are trying to bring money and projects to the areas they serve, but I've got news for them. A Westside subway would be instantly popular. To be able to go to the beach without having to worry about parking? I'm from North Hollywood and I'm sold!

[Jonathan]

It's just so horribly sad that we cannot FINALLY build the most crucial public transportation pieces that will FINALLY allow LA to rejoin the list of world cities that efficiently move the lion's share of its commuters and tourists. It seems NO ONE has gotten the memo that EFFICIENCY for commuters and tourists= $$$$$$$$$$$!

Without doing the following ASAP (while completing EIR/EIS and securing funding and STOPPING THE BICKERING) we are just wasting our time on the FOLLY of rebuilding a comprehensive regional transportation network which was dismantled when the Red Cars PE Railway was destroyed:

1) Subway from Union Station ALL THE WAY to Santa Monica down Wilshire (Purple Line Extension)
2) West Hollywoood Spur from Hollywood and Highland to Purple Line Connection on Wilshire (Pink Line)
3) RE-PRIORITIZATION of a Light Rail down the 405 from the Valley into West LA (it's criminal that there is nothing in the works now)
4) Fast-tracking of the Downtown Regional Connector so that all the current lines will be properly connected and transfers will be minimized, maximizing trip speeds and efficiency

Sure the other lines (Gold Line Extensions to the SGV and beyond, Crenshaw Line) are extremely vital, but this intense 'Regionalism' and 'Districtism' is so darn provincial and shortsighted, I don't even know what to say. It's really just pathetic.

Without serving the MOST DENSE TRAFFIC NIGHTMARE corridors on the Westside, Along Wilshire throughout the city, and from the Valley to the Westside, which ALL people in LA County and beyond will benefit from, any other rail plan just downright pathetic and Third World. I use the term 'plan' loosely because the joke here is that there is really no plan at all! pieces are built in a completely unintegrated fashion. This is why we always need to go back later and try to fix stupid stuff like completing the Green Line link to LAX and finally building a regional connector, which should have been integrated from the beginning.

LA County politicians, wake up and take a look around at other cities across the globe. They get things done, they work together, they work on 5-10 yr FAST TRACKS and build world class INTEGRATED systems. This piecemeal stuff is absolutely unacceptable--the glacial pace, lack of strategic integration and foresight is why Los Angeles County remains DOOMED. It's time to WAKE UP!!!

(Of course no one on the MTA Board, In Washington, or anywhere else is going to read this and/or listen to my suggestions/pleas, because it just makes TOO MUCH SENSE!!)...sad. sad. and...sad. I thought America was capable of greater achievement than this public works de-volution...We used to be so pragmatic and can-do, once the envy of the world in this department. Look how far we've fallen! It's time to GET UP.