Expo and Crenshaw Lines: Under Whose Authority? (Source: CityWatch)

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Expo and Crenshaw Lines: Under Whose Authority?
Moving LA
By Ken Alpern

It appears that there is a growing emphasis to construct transportation projects right the first time, so I am thrilled that the efforts of Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas to create a first-rate Crenshaw Light Rail Line are paying off.

The Metro Crenshaw Corridor Project, under the leadership of Roderick Diaz, Dave Monks and others, are recommending this transit line be a light rail and not a busway, and are still working out details that will (for a higher cost, of course) create a safer, quicker and more rider-friendly line that could revitalize the Crenshaw Corridor and Inglewood as major economic centers for decades to come. I have been a fan of this Crenshaw project for years, despite its opponents, and I look forward to the network it creates between the Green, Expo and Wilshire Lines once it becomes a reality.

Currently, it is planned to link only the Expo and Green Lines to each other and LAX via Century/Aviation, but the political support for ultimately linking it to the Wilshire Corridor (likely at Wilshire and La Brea, or thereabouts) is rising so fast that the appropriate map for this future key north-south line is as follows:
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The currently-planned northern terminus of Exposition/Crenshaw is undergoing increasing scrutiny (as it really should) for an underground alignment because north of Crenshaw the street becomes so narrow that any future light rail extension to Wilshire requires a subway.

In fact, the whole darn length of the line under Crenshaw from Exposition to the Harbor Subdivision Right of Way is on its way to being a subway, as both Supervisor Ridley-Thomas and Mid-City LA Councilmember Bernard Parks are pursuing the undergrounding of the line to minimize traffic concerns, increase speed and safety of the line and—most of all—ensure smooth operations and high ridership.

Furthermore, the portion of the line that goes through Westchester is likely to be grade-separated at Manchester, as it should, since Westchester residents have boldly pursued the light rail option but with an elevated station south of Manchester to avoid traffic problems and/or residential street closures.

I am not one of those wedded to at-grade (street-level) rail or grade-separated (elevated or subway) rail, and am neither wedded to the car-is-king philosophy nor the screw-the-car-commuters-because-they’re-sinners philosophy…and I suspect most taxpayers aren’t, either. Inappropriate spending is just that—inappropriate—but a betterment is also just that—a betterment!

To be fair, it remains to be determined whether the extra costs for the grade-separating betterments will be borne at the expense of other projects, but as our political paradigms change (in particular, from building infrastructure on the megacheap to doing things right the first time despite—within reason—the extra cost), it becomes necessary to compare the Expo and Crenshaw Corridor planning processes.

You see, both Ridley-Thomas and Parks, who are championing the subway portion of the Crenshaw Corridor Light Rail Line, are also on the Exposition Line Construction Authority Board, which is on its way to slamming through a purely at-grade line across some of the busiest streets in the Westside.

I refuse to oppose Ridley-Thomas’ and Parks’ desire to pursue the subway option at Crenshaw … but I do have to wonder about the can of worms being ripped open regarding the Expo Line.

Unlike the Crenshaw Corridor team, operating directly under the Metro Authority, and which is offering betterments to achieve more local support for that line, the Expo Line is being built under its own Authority that is operating under an entirely different paradigm.

Those working for the Expo Line Construction Authority, created by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky and others during a now-bygone era where transportation funding was always given short shrift and even shorter budgeting, are operating under much tighter fiscal constraints and receive much harsher evaluations from the political and media powers that be when things go over budget.

With the recently-opened Eastside Light Rail Line and the future Expo Line, the pressure to keep things at-grade (and cheaper!) was and is enormous, but with the Crenshaw Corridor the extra costs appear to be received by most parties as: “SO WHAT? AND? THE PROBLEM WITH A BETTER LINE FOR EXTRA MONEY IS WHAT?”

Similarly, the Hobson’s choice for the Expo Line crossing at megacongested Sepulveda Blvd., with either an at-grade crossing with local street widening for $13 million, or an elevated rail crossing for $28 million paid for by the local Casden Developer landowners but with a political go-ahead for a regionally-opposed 8-10 story project, might likely be received as:

“ARE YOU FREAKIN’ KIDDING ME? WHY CAN’T METRO PAY FOR THAT $15 MILLION BETTERMENT AT SEPULVEDA FOR A PROJECT THAT’LL BE AROUND FOR A HUNDRED YEARS?”

I again need to point out that the Expo Line Construction Authority, created by Supervisor Yaroslavsky during a pre-Measure R era, (and after the countywide anti-subway initiative Yaroslavsky sponsored passed overwhelmingly because of cost overruns during the 1980’s/90’s), is merely doing its job: build the Expo Line on time and for as low a cost as possible.

I suspect that Yaroslavsky will (wisely) oppose the extra frills of the Crenshaw Line while he’s fighting to get the Expo Line built without expensive frills, and that he will come into conflict with Ridley-Thomas who (also wisely) recognizes a worthy-but-more-expensive betterment when he sees one.

I just hope that Yaroslavsky, who once was a City Councilmember of the West L.A. region through which the Expo Line will run, and who steadfastly prevented the Expo Line from being built through that region for decades, didn’t create the Expo Line Authority with an engineering and legal staff to line things up, build up the political and legal crescendo to create an unstoppable momentum, and…
KABOOM! An at-grade Expo Line is slammed through West L.A., with car traffic, decreased Expo Line ridership, and/or planning challenges that will plague the region for decades.

I want to go on record as not blaming the Authority staff (again, they’re just doing their jobs), but instead blaming the City of L.A. for not planning for the Expo Line and offering the Authority guidance in its planning.

I also remind City Councilmembers Rosendahl and Koretz, who are for some inexplicable reason are not going to be on the Expo Line Construction Authority Board any time soon, that they are the ones that local residents will look to for leadership and guidance and that they do chair the L.A. City Transportation Committee.

I know that the two Westside City Councilmembers are likely annoyed at being off the Expo Line Authority Board, but the “blame it on Zev” paradigm will have a limited half-life as the Expo Line Westside Phase EIR becomes finalized.

We need first-rate leadership to create a first-rate Expo Line. Whether its Westsiders or Mid-City residents, the taxpaying commuters who voted in Measure R deserve no less.

(Ken Alpern is a Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC) and is both co-chair of the MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee and past co-chair of the MVCC Planning Committee. He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and also chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at Alpern@MarVista.org.This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)