Link: http://www.intersectionssouthla.org/index.php/story/light_rail_line_raises_concerns_in_local_city/
Light rail line raises concerns in local city
The Crenshaw Transit Corridor, a proposed 8-mile, $1.7-billion light rail line that will pass through five cities as it runs from the Crenshaw District to Los Angeles International Airport, is raising concerns about crime and pedestrian safety among Inglewood residents. Plans call for the light rail line to run at-grade, or street-level, through the city, which worries some residents and rail safety advocates.“There are safety issues with intersections, schools, and pedestrians,” said resident Stephen Brooks. “And with it running around the suburbs and through the community, our crime rate will go through the roof.”
Damien Goodmon, coordinator of the Fix Expo Campaign, said light rail trains weigh about 225 tons, travel at speeds of 40 to 55 miles an hour and cross some intersections as often as 24 times in an hour.
“This isn’t your San Francisco trolley,” he said. “They take about a football field to stop. They’re like subways operating at street level.”
Areas immediately surrounding at-grade light rail lines tend to have higher crime rates than areas surrounding underground rail lines, according to the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
In 2009, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's Blue and Green light rail lines logged 550 crimes combined, 157 of which were robberies. Over the same time period 129 crimes – 33 of them robberies – were reported along the heavy-rail Red Line that runs from Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles and branches into Wilshire/Western and North Hollywood, according to Lt. Rick Craigo, the Lt. Chief of Staff at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
The level of crimes on rail lines reflects the crime rates of the areas the trains traverse, he said. Most robberies occurred when passengers were distracted, and the suspect was able to steal property, then exit the railcar as the doors closed, Craigo said.
At a recent MTA workshop, residents gathered at St. Mary’s Academy in Inglewood to learn about the line that will run through their city. They also worked with simulations of the station that will be placed in Inglewood. A light rail uses electric railcars and carries more passengers at higher speeds than a traditional tram system. In fact, the light rail is heavier than the heavy rail. However, the term refers to the light rail’s ability to carry light loads at a fast pace.
Because of its speed, weight and potential danger, Crenshaw Corridor’s crossings would be equipped with traffic signals, pedestrian and motorist gates, and warning devices. Station pedestrian crossings near schools would be monitored, and a crossing guard would be provided if necessary during construction, an MTA report said.
But some residents at the meeting said that is not enough, and asked for the train to be built underground.
According to Keith Lockard, Inglewood’s principal transportation engineer, grade levels are based on what is most suitable for the line and should change if they run into an existing structure, like a freeway.
“It depends where above-grade, at-grade, and below-grade rails are appropriate for the design,” Lockard said. “We want to ensure that the structure of the facilities occurs in the best manner possible to be compatible with our existing infrastructure and also with our existing and future ranges.”
Lockard also said at-grade levels are the least costly rail option. But Brooks said that Inglewood residents pay the highest sales tax in the South Bay, at 10.5 percent, and are therefore entitled to the safer, more expensive underground rail that seems to be reserved for more affluent areas.
“In the richer neighborhoods, they accommodate them,” Brooks said. “They’re treating us like the urban 'hood.”
Funding will come from Measure R, which voters in 2008. This measure increased sales tax by half a cent. The cost of the portion of the line that runs through Inglewood has yet to be released.
“The Crenshaw Transit Corridor…would potentially generate 880 new jobs to the local economy, increase economic output by an estimated $73.2 million and add $42.4 million in household earnings by year 2030,” according to a letter written to the city from Inglewood’s Planning and Building Department.
Existing MTA staff would have priority for some of the jobs, and some would be set aside for Inglewood residents, according to the MTA. Inglewood and other communities served by the rail line will benefit from increased spending at local businesses, according to the MTA.
MTA’s other proposed option was to add more buses to the system, but city officials said the light rail is a much better option.
"Buses in this area are fully saturated in terms of ridership,” said Wanda Williams, Inglewood’s Acting Planning and Building Director. “We don’t need more buses. We’re going to need alternative means of travel that carries a higher percentage of riders and the light rail does that. It takes carbon dioxide off the road, reduces green house gas emissions, reduces noise and pollution, getting there quicker than a bus.”
In fact, the light rail system will cut travel time between the Expo Line at the intersection of Exposition and Crenshaw Boulevards and the Green Line at Aviation Station, by an estimated 21.6 minutes and will carry nearly 30 percent more passengers on a daily basis compared to the No-Build Alternative, which would expand the use of buses and improve highway conditions, according to the MTA.
With those numbers, it is no surprise Inglewood City Council adopted a resolution to support the Crenshaw Transit Corridor.
The line will reduce Inglewood’s carbon footprint by taking people out of their cars, improve access to downtown Inglewood, relieve congestion and cut travel costs for commuters, said Councilman Ralph Franklin.
“Where there is public transit, there is economic development,” Tabor said. “People come downtown and [then] regional and national companies move in.”
And for a city that has plunged nearly $10 million deep in a budget deficit, perhaps the Crenshaw Corridor is the answer to its troubled economy.
Some residents question the viability of the claims of economic improvement the project promises.
“What would be your reason for coming here?” asked Inglewood resident Victor Smith. “When tourists come, they want to see an attraction, and Inglewood doesn’t have that.”
Transportation Planning Manager Roderick Diaz said he is confident that once residents understand the reach of the project, they will recognize the opportunities it brings with it.
“Obviously there is a big concern about impact,” Diaz said. “I think for a lot of people, this is a new thing. So we have to introduce this and kind of explain that we are studying all the impacts…and hopefully [with] more and more [community involvement] we’ll get the word out…and get them to think about the big picture vision.”
The 8-mile line is designed to run from the intersection of Century and Exposition boulevards to Aviation Boulevard near LAX, where it will connect to the existing Green Line. The goal is to accommodate the high densities of population, employment and transportation-dependent individuals in the area.
At the workshop, one attendee, Chris Mercier, an independent architect and Inglewood resident, said he has high hopes for the line and thinks it will make a positive impact on the city.
“I support it because it draws people into Inglewood,” Mercier said. “If you ask people if they’ve been to Inglewood, they [most likely] say no, but when you remind them of the Forum and Hollywood Park, then they get a picture in their head. Downtown [Inglewood] needs an identity.”
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