West Hollywood supports FABULOUS metro line
West Hollywood supports FABULOUS metro line
October 20, 4:18 PMLA Energy Policy ExaminerAlexander Lennartz
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WeHo a transit go?
Put on the tunes, mix yourself a cosmo, because there is some good news out of West Hollywood concerning mass transit. According to metroriderla, an idea that started out as an internet memo two years ago has grown into a community-driven grassroots campaign for a subway extension under Santa Monica Blvd. known as the Pink Line. More details of the proposed line can be found here.
In terms of the trench warfare that is Los Angeles metro planning, for a proposal to go from internet chatter to community backed urban planning is great progress in a very short amount of time. West Hollywood could end up being a potential corridor that binds LA County together on a north-south axis via Hollywood and Highland and an east-west axis connecting to Western and Wilshire.
The primary focus of metro expansion is the Wilshire subway line to the Westside (not that there’s anything wrong with that), but the Pink Line should be given just as much consideration due to the level of community support for it. WeHo has strong grassroots political organization and is one of the wealthier areas of Los Angeles County. There are currently no funds for the line (projected cost $3 billion), but the community’s ability to effectively fund-raise will expedite the process of getting the line built while metro projects in other areas languish. Although it is not even on metro’s official web-site map of future projects, the Pink Line is continuing to build momentum.
Citizens of West Hollywood raised $3.9 million dollars in one day to fight Prop 8 on October 21st, 2008. Once they win that battle (sorry to break the news to those who share the views of Carrie Prejean, but when Iowa passes gay marriage, you know it’s only a matter of time before it happens here), a highly effective fund-raising machine can be directed at getting the line built as well as the ratcheting up the necessary political pressure required in order to get things done.
Besides the everyday benefit of having an efficient, fast public transport option in West Hollywood, the Pink Line would be a saving grace for the days that special events are held and major streets like Santa Monica and La Cienega are blocked off. The detours that had to be taken for last week’s AIDS walk stalled traffic and with Halloween upcoming, the party will also block off major traffic arteries. Even the buses were prevented from travelling up past a certain point on Santa Monica. Moving people via the subway would reduce auto accidents, time lost in traffic and the other maladies of congestion.
West Hollywood City Hall is supportive of the effort to bring a subway line to the area, as confirmed by the minutes of the city council’s meeting for October 6th. The city government has a transportation commission meets on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. in the Community Conference Room of City Hall located at 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard for those who wish to engage in the debate.
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