Fear of the light rail divides transit advocates

The Expo light rail seems destined for delay and the effort is creating a rift among transit advocates.

After years of planning and already millions of dollars spent, it seemed like the environmentally sound, inexpensive and alternative to the single driver car might actually get built.

But wait - not only is the $640 million project already $140 million over budget, citizens have coalesced around safety and people are listening.

More than 400 urged the PUC not to allow the planned Exposition light-rail trains to run at street level near Dorsey High School at a Monday meeting.

The construction authority's board of directors voted last week to study alternatives to the street-level design during a full hearing in January.

Residents demanded that the rail line be built below street level at Farmdale Avenue next to the high school. An authority consultant insisted that the intersection would be safer with trains operating than it is today. The PUC commissioner agreed the crossings at the Foshay Learning Center near Western Avenue and Exposition deserved more scrutiny. The options running the tracks over or under the intersection or simply adding a pedestrian crossing over or under the street-level tracks.

Guess which is the cheapest alternative and which one will be chosen? We'll see.

But the fight, led by Leimert Park Beat member Damien Goodmon of fixexpo, is turning heads because Goodmon, who gained some press for his "dream map" of transit corridors, is an advocate of mass transit.

He believes corners are being cut, and where are they being cut - in the area with the biggest minority population, the quietest political voices and the least economic capital - South Los Angeles (that's my opinion).

Damien says in an open letter to transit advoacates: "Grade separations are not a priority to our political leaders, and this must and can change. But, it will only occur by harnessing and channeling the people who value grade separation. It is through the power of the people who vote (and vote to recall) that political priorities are redefined."

As Dan W. put it: “Sometimes the perfect is the enemy of the good.”

While I tend to side the "let's get this done - the Gold Line to Pasadena is at street level for the most part and very safe," Goodmon presents a compelling (yet overly lengthy) argument in his open letter.

Some highlights:

It's not about money:
"
Just days after the California legislature voted with bipartisan support to strip $314 million from the then $640 million Expo Line budget, the California Transportation Commission returned the money. That act alone has essentially ended all arguments about the “high cost” of grade separations ... if 314 million dollars can be found in 2 weeks – then there is no reason Expo Line communities should be asked or required to accept the safety risks and other environmental impacts of a street-level light rail line.

"Shortly after the Expo Authority found $314M in a couple of weeks, the MTA board approved an additional 23 million dollars for the Expo Line budget, which is about the cost of a grade separation.

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