GETTING THERE FROM HERE - It’s no secret that our economy, political scene and public sector operations are all in play, and perhaps the single most favorable result of our stumbling economy (no, folks, it’s not zooming back…but it’s not falling apart, either) is our ability to really scrutinize what we’re doing right and what we’re doing wrong. Fortunately, despite the obstacles and setbacks, our transportation leadership at Metro (both at the political and staff levels) are making progress.
Let’s start with the Expo Line—Phase 1 is too slow, the TAP card system isn’t user-friendly as it ought to be, and the parking lot around the Culver City station needs to be cleaned up. However, that latter parking lot is definitely being used, and the biggest problem with it is that it’s too small.
But that parking problem is similar to the parking nightmares which faced North Hollywood and Universal City when the Red Line Subway reached those two locations—it means that mass/rapid transit has finally reached the right locations to be of benefit to a region of the county that didn’t enjoy access before. It’s arguably a sign of success, and with the understanding that Culver City was always sort of a “Phase 1½” because it linked Phase 1 and 2 and was always a step behind the rest of Phase 1, it’s safe to say that the Culver City Expo Line at Venice/Robertson will be a transit hub for decades to come.
So unless Metro has had a sea change of operational paradigms from its past 10-20 years, it’s safe to say that Expo Line speeds and operations will improve. Metro doesn’t take complaints lying down, and those who ignore those complaints are usually out of a job or demoted. The Foothill Gold Line was too slow, but now it’s quite fast and enjoys excellent ridership that’s silenced the critics. And the TAP card system is one that should be fixed sooner, and not later.
And to the west, where Phase 2 bridges and utility work are moving at rocket speed thanks to the incredible work of Skanska/Rados (a go-to contractor that Metro should embrace for the indefinite future), the dangers posed by those seeking to put a halt to construction while they bring their anti-Expo legal challenges to the State Supreme Court include damaging the economy and the wallets of the taxpayers, as Supervisor Yaroslavsky has rightfully noted.
Metro, the Expo Construction Authority and the combined political leadership of LA City and County are all opposing any work stoppage, and it’s hoped that reason and courage rule the day with respect to moving the Expo Line forward against those who’ve opted to drag their heels for the past few decades rather than achieve helpful mitigation for the Westside.
And as the Expo Line fights its way westward, and as the Crenshaw Line, Foothill Gold Line and Downtown Light Rail Connector projects offer the obvious next steps towards establishing light rail as a true network to serve the greater county, the next light rail hurdle—connecting the Green and Crenshaw/LAX lines to LAX terminals, are being tackled by the Metro Board.
The Metro Board, under a motion passed by Supervisor Don Knabe, has requested that Metro’s chief executive come back with a plan by late January 2013 to get the LAX/MetroRail connection completed by 2020.
Clearly, the County of Los Angeles wants and needs a solid, user-friendly connection between MetroRail and LAX.
Clearly, with the mayoral race of the City of L.A. heating up, a pointed question must be raised to all four candidates (Garcetti, Greuel, Perry and James) as to whether they intend to confront LA World Airports Chief Executive Gina Marie Lindsey. Lindsey has unfortunately and hamhandedly given the taxpayers a rude gesture by dismissing this connection as a Busway, which is not desired by the taxpaying public and which is more expensive to operate than a rail connection, despite the greater startup costs for a rail system.
Of course, the need to increase the $200 million seed money for a Green Line to LAX (now more appropriately designated as a MetroRail to LAX because both the Crenshaw and Green Lines need a singular direct or indirect rail connection) is paramount for LA World Airports, Metro and the Federal Transit Administration to know that the City and County of Los Angeles means business with respect to creating a 21st Century rail network.
Also of course, our freeways, particularly in the Inland Empire, need upgrading and widening whenever and wherever possible. Anyone who experienced “Carmageddon East” when the SR-60 freeway was temporarily shut down after a truck fire last December knows we need our freeways as much as we do a rail system (more so, at this immediate time).
Both rail and freeway construction, now both conducted by Metro in L.A. County, have been helped by Measure R but will be ensured and expedite by Measure J, the county measure we’ll be voting on next week. Measure J does NOT raise current taxes, but allows us to borrow from future and extended sales tax revenues to build our needed freeway and rail projects within the next decade.
Regardless of who wins the next presidential election, and regardless of what happens in Sacramento or Washington as they work to balance their budgets, Measure J ensures that L.A. City and County’s economy and mobility continue to grow for the indefinite future. More freeway and rail projects will change from the realm of science fiction to undisputable fact—and they will be as vetted and on budget as we’ve seen for our current Measure R projects.
So there are hurdles, and there are legitimate complaints to throw at Metro—and throw them we MUST. But to show that we’re willing to put our money where our mouth is, we need to continue to fight to make sure our transportation problems can be fixed with guaranteed funding. And our economy will benefit no matter what political or fiscal challenges get thrown our way.
The next thing we can do, and the only thing we can do right now, to ensure quality rail and freeway funding, particularly a MetroRail connection to LAX.
Pass Measure J! J as in Jumpstart!
(Ken Alpern is a former Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Vice Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected]. He also co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us. The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.) –cw
CityWatch
Vol 10 Issue 87
Pub: Oct 30, 2012