Pedestrian View Of Los Angeles: MTA Approves Alternate Rail To Sea ( Source: LA Weekly)

Pedestrian View Of Los Angeles

This blog focuses on rail lines in LA country that exist, are under construction or under consideration. The Californian high-speed rail project and southern CA to Vegas project will also be covered. Since most of the relevant developments in the news, rail websites and blogosphere take place on weekdays, this blog will be updated primarily Monday through Friday and occasionally on the weekends. Your comments, criticism and suggestions are encouraged. Miscellaneous stuff will also appear here.

Monday, February 8, 2010

MTA Approves Alternate Rail To Sea ( Source: LA Weekly)

MTA Approves Alternate Rail To Sea - Los Angeles News - LA Daily

MTA Approves Alternate Rail To Sea
By Dennis Romero in City News, Environment, community, politics
Fri., Feb. 5 2010 @ 12:12AM

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MTA
The board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Thursday night approved a railway to the beach, but it wasn't the "subway to the sea" Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been touting as a way to get from downtown to Beverly Hills and ultimately to Santa Monica.

The board voted to approve a final, seven-mile leg of the already-under-construction Expo Line. The last leg, "phase two," will run from Culver City to Santa Monica, concluding only blocks from Santa Monica pier. (Map).

The MTA approved tapping $1.5 billion in state funds to seed the above-ground, light-rail project. Residents in Cheviot Hills have fought the plan for years, even though the line wouldn't run through their neighborhood (it would run close, to the south). Some would like to see at least part of the line run underground in the area, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Now that a Westside light rail line has been approved, does L.A. need a second transit railway concluding only a few blocks north in Santa Monica too? It's already part of the MTA's $298 billion Long Range Transportation Plan, so it could be a done deal.