A Bullet Point List of Transportation Issues ... But Are We Willing to Bite the Bullet?

TRANSPO LA-Behind the scenes, and sometimes right up front, we are continuing to see a drumbeat of transportation-related issues rise to the surface.  Some of these will be big issues in upcoming elections, such as those to replace outgoing House Rep. Henry Waxman and County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. 

1)    For starters, the question of whether we can make a viable California High Speed Rail train, coupled with the question of whether we should spend so many billions on THIS project to the exclusion of OTHER rail transportation projects, makes the likely re-election of Governor Jerry Brown one that will still call into question the merits of the California High Speed Rail Project--because an increasing number of supporters are expressing doubts. With the critical first segment of the project (the Central Valley portion) rising in projected costs by up to $1 billion, and diminishing political support from the state's most ardent pro-rail, pro-transportation supporters, the decision of whether to keep or revise the more popular segments of this project while dropping Governor Brown's bigger vision will just not go away. 

Governor Brown and other high-speed rail supporters (like myself!) in both Sacramento, and throughout the state, will need to Bite The Bullet and make some very tough decisions...like to re-envision a project that is slower and more akin to a "higher speed rail" like Amtrak and less akin to a project that is meant to compete with air travel. 

2)    Closer to home, LAX reconfiguration and construction will be more expensive and involved than many would like, but it is entirely necessary--and, unlike the aforementioned California High Speed Rail Project, appears to enjoy more support and make more financial sense. And WHY is a $7 billion facelift of LAX more logical than a $7 billion Central Valley Segment of the California High Speed Rail Project?  

The answer is simple--LAX reconfiguration has an easier case to be made for most Southern Californians, will create more economic growth for the region and the state...and will affect and benefit more people.  

Angelenos used to Biting The Bullet on the 405 widening project (it's coming to an END, folks...for reals!) will have to do the same for LAX reconfiguration. 3) And while we're on the subject of LAX reconfiguration and the California High Speed Rail Project, imagine if we could wave a magic wand and break the legal bonds of tying dedicated funds to the California High Speed Rail project and divert them instead to the long-awaited and long-sought LAX/Metro Rail connection. 

Would taxpayers go for it?  Why, yes they would!  It should be noted that the proposed LAX Connect project that is supported by LA World Airports, Westside Councilmember Mike Bonin and Mayor Eric Garcetti (and just about every other Westside political leader!) would divert the Crenshaw/LAX rail project towards LAX while still serving the rail line's main function of creating a north-south rail link between the east-west Expo Line in the north and the east-west Green Line in the south. 

Many still have doubts, or even oppose, the LAX Connect project that includes an Intermodal Transportation Facility (ITF) where remote baggage check-in and rail/car-rental commuters could access LAX, but it should be noted that the east-west Automated People Mover train is itself a major rail project that would connect the Car Rental Facility in the east to the ITF, and on to the Central Terminal Area (CTA) in the west. 

There's a reason why most of us favor this east-west/north-south compromise of the ITF--it splits the difference between any necessary geographic realities to accommodate the countywide betterment of Metro Rail: the much needed LAX link.  

Furthermore, the proposed Crenshaw/Aviation connection to the planned Consolidated Rental Car Facility adjacent to that planned station is LOUSY and entirely undefined. ...and did anyone remember that $1 billion-plus dollars to pay for the ITF and the Automated People Mover train will come from LA World Airports and not from Metro?  

Yes, Metro and the county will have to cough up $3-500 million to divert the Crenshaw/LAX rail project to the ITF, but it should be noted that the Metro Board is increasingly drawn to this proposal... 

...Because it makes sense in the long run to do this LAX/Metro Rail link right.  We will have to Bite The Bullet and put up with this 21st-Century upgrade of our rail, bus, freeway and air traffic system to enhance and ensure the economic growth of Los Angeles City and County. 

3)    We will also have to Bite The Bullet on the so-called transit tunnel between the San Fernando Valley and the Westside:  a "limited" $5-7 billion rail tunnel is what makes sense, but the $20 billion tunnel option that includes a freeway is about as unrealistic as any endeavor that's been proposed. 

The time will come when the Wilshire Subway reaches the Westside, and a speedy train that connects the Orange Line Busway (and perhaps the Metrolink system in the northern San Fernando Valley) to the Wilshire Subway and Expo Line must be planned sooner, and not later.  That means NOW, or at the least very, very soon. 

How this Valley/Westside train reaches LAX is anyone's guess, but another Bullet To Bite is to postpone that issue for now because there's no money or political will to fix that connection at this time.  Linking Metro Rail to LAX and the Valley/Westside is plenty to keep us busy right now...the final Valley/LAX rail link is one that merits consideration AFTER those more pressing issues are addressed. 

4)    The final bullet point, and Bullet For Us To Bite, is the need to empower Transportation officials and leaders to play a role in realistic, sustainable Planning.  Any Transportation official who doesn't want to sully his/her hands in relevant Planning issues, and any Planning official who doesn't want to take into consideration relevant Transportation issues, needs to either be sharply re-educated or asked to consider a different career. 

Now that the Pico Blvd. corridor in  the Westside is rightfully being rezoned for densification to prepare for the upcoming Expo Line in the Westside, it should be noted that the Expo Line has a limited passenger capacity, and that Overland Ave.--a key linking surface street to the 10 and 405 freeways--is an at-grade crossing of the Expo Line, and which can result in considerable automobile slowing throughout the greater region. 

There will be a LIMIT of how much we can therefore densify on Pico Blvd. or any other Expo Line adjacent region--the Expo Line is anything BUT a huge rail line like the Wilshire Subway, and if big developers like those creating the Casden, JMB and other projects in Los Angeles and Santa Monica want to pretend that the Expo Line is another Wilshire Subway (and won't attract too many cars!) it will invite an environmental and mobility nightmare that will turn off a majority of otherwise pro-transit voters. 

Big projects need to be right-sized (environmentally sustainable, folks!) and with mitigations to enhance--not destroy-- the mobility issues that created the groundswell of support for the Expo Line and other transit projects in the first place. 

To a similar degree, even the Wilshire Subway will have to draw development that makes sense, is not too car-oriented, and has PARKING and train station amenities for all commuter modality subtypes.  

Telling the public to "go pound sand" after they voted to tax themselves to build these major infrastructure projects is NOT a way to enhance future voter support for these large public works projects. 

As I stated in my past CityWatch article, it's time to keep things real.  Once we respect the laws of physics, nature and math, we'll achieve the credibility to keep things moving on an even keel and restore local and statewide economic recovery and growth. And we'll be more than willing to Bite That Bullet when it's been shown to be logical and strategically smart. 

Let's not just Keep It Real.  Let's Make It Real.

 

(Ken Alpern is a Westside Village Zone Director and Boardmember of the Mar Vista Community Council (MVCC), previously co-chaired its Planning and Outreach Committees, and currently is Co-Chair of its MVCC Transportation/Infrastructure Committee.  He is co-chair of the CD11 Transportation Advisory Committee and chairs the nonprofit Transit Coalition, and can be reached at [email protected] This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ... He also does regular commentary on the Mark Isler Radio Show on AM 870, co-chairs the grassroots Friends of the Green Line at www.fogl.us .  The views expressed in this article are solely those of Mr. Alpern.)

-cw

 

 

 

 

CityWatch

Vol 12  Issue 38

Pub: May 9, 2014