Metro board declines to set aside money for rail station at Leimert Park Village

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

With hundreds of South Los Angeles community residents and business leaders looking on, the Metro Board of Directors expressed support Thursday for placing a Crenshaw Line rail station in historic Leimert Park Village but declined to provide the money to pay for it. The board also declined to place underground a one-mile segment of track at Park Mesa Heights.

The board declined to exceed the $1.715 billion already allocated for the line's construction. But if contractor bids come in lower than expected, members left open the possibility of using any remaining funds to build the Leimert Park station.

Some on the board said the decision was a “victory” and claimed it showed a commitment to building a station at Leimert Park Village. But backers of the station proposal, including board member and Los Angeles County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, said the decision was dubious and confusing.

“I can’t tell you if we have a station or don’t,” said Jackie Ryan of the Leimert Park Village Merchant’s Assn.

A full story will follow.

For the record, 5:40 p.m., May 26: This post earlier stated an incorrect dollar figure, $1.175 billion, for the Crenshaw Line's construction. Metro has allocated $1.715 billion for the project.

-- Ari Bloomekatz