Light Rail: The Need Is Great, The Time Is Now

Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D.
Special to the Mirror

   Southern California has an appeal to the rest of the nation, if not the rest of the world, as a wonderful place to live with excellent weather and innumerable tourist destinations. This appeal has led to unprecedented population growth and density that has given Southern California, especially Los Angeles County, the dubious distinction of being #1 in pollution and traffic congestion.
   The 10 freeway is the most congested in the nation (with the 405 freeway not too far behind), and the 405/101 freeway interchange is the most congested in the nation as well.
   California also has the interesting characteristic of being a “donor” state to the rest of the nation. Only 88% of all federal taxes paid by Californians come back to California to meet its needs for health, education, transportation, etc. This “donor” status, of course, occurs because the California Congressional Delegation has been notoriously disorganized and without unity for years.
   Enter the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which, in a nutshell, authorizes a budget of federal taxpayer dollars that can be used for transit and highway systems throughout the nation. This budget of roughly $200 billion is redrawn every six years during a renewal period that will occur again in 2003.
   Make no bones about it: the fight for the final 2003 reauthorization will occur this year, and it will be big. Every state is fighting for its “fair share” and more, and this year there will be a great deal of debate and horse-trading in Washington as jockeying for this large pot of money occurs in earnest.

   Some key facts:
   1) The Blue Line is undergoing an upgrading from two to three car trains because of overwhelming popular demand, and, when completed, it will potentially accommodate 90,000-100,000 riders daily, to become the most heavily-travelled light rail in the nation.
   2) The Red Line, upon connecting with the Valley via the North Hollywood and Universal City stations, had its ridership double overnight to roughly 120,000 riders daily, making it one of the busiest subways in the nation
   3) Even the Green Line, which “goes from nowhere to nowhere,” (from Redondo Beach to Norwalk along the 105 freeway), accommodates over 30,000 riders daily—and when the Gold Line connecting Downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena opens next year, the potential of another 60,000 riders using mass transit each day is quite likely
   4)Metrolink trains, which carry commuters from neighboring counties into and out of Los Angeles County, are filled to capacity as rapidly as they are being built
   In other words, despite the car culture that is so engrained in California, if “you build mass transit they will come.” Most Westsiders do not know about the success of Southern California mass transit because they have absolutely no access to it, though our tax dollars have been used to fund it.
   As an active member of Friends4Expo, I am proud that we fought the good fight last year to convince the MTA to authorize the construction of the Exposition Light Rail Line (aka the Expo Line), which, when completed, will connect Downtown Los Angeles with the Santa Monica Pier—and will parallel and offer an alternative to the busy 10 freeway.
   Some $200 million in federal money that was devoted previously to the now-defunct Red Line extension to the Westside has been shifted by the MTA towards the Expo Line—which is currently the main focus of Westside mass transit. However, members of Congress from other states view this particular money as potentially up for grabs.
Because of funding limitations, only a Phase I of Expo – which would stop at East Culver City — has been approved. There was some question of the best route through West Los Angeles to Santa Monica, but such a question can be answered via the same public input that led to the Phase I routing. With the Santa Monica City Council recently approving a downtown renewal policy that would accommodate this Expo Line, it should be emphasized that Phase II to Santa Monica could be pursued in the immediate future if funding is achieved.
   Currently, the MTA is also debating how to proceed with connecting the Green Line to LAX — with money being the key element stopping such a long-overdue connection from being initiated. Los Angeles Mayor James Hahn is likely to push for a remote passenger terminal near Parking Lots B and C, which would be a tantalizingly attractive target for the Green Line to connect with LAX.
   Westside cities have formed a Lincoln Corridor Task Force to explore ways to mitigate traffic on Lincoln Boulevard. One proposed solution is to have a light rail line that could run all the way down to LAX and connect with the Green Line.
   As this TEA-21 reauthorization fight goes on in Washington, it behooves us as concerned citizens who suffer from worse air pollution and traffic congestion than anywhere else in the nation to support our Congressional delegation as they fight for Westside mass transit.

   Some more facts:
   1) The Westside will not get more freeways or Red Line access anytime soon, so mass transit will be restricted to either buses or light rail. The latter is cleaner, less noisy and a less bumpy ride, has higher passenger capacity, and is much more likely to encourage commuters to avoid using their cars than buses ever will
   2) Regardless of the controversies over Playa Vista and LAX expansion, Westside population and freeway congestion is worsening, and future LAX expansion (which I personally oppose) can be avoided by connecting LAX with other airports via elements such as the Green Line
   3) Rep. Henry Waxman, who halted the Red Line due to environmental concerns and who is fighting the oil/energy culture that led to Enron, has a constituency that would benefit more than any other from a completed Expo Line
   4) Rep. Jane Harman, who has fought LAX expansion and who favors Green Line connection to LAX as part of a regional air traffic alternative for Southern California, is being redistricted towards the Westside and has a constituency that will benefit from both Expo and Green Line construction
   5) Rep. Maxine Waters, who has also fought LAX expansion, has a constituency in neighboring Inglewood and Westchester that would benefit from the pollution- and congestion-mitigating effects that would result from Green Line connection to LAX (and beyond someday to the Westside?)
   6) Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein are both from Northern California and are much more familiar with its transit needs — and have viewed previous NIMBYism towards mass transit with some concern as to whether Southern California is as pro-mass transit as its neighbors to the
north.
   Proposition 42, which will devote the gasoline sales tax towards highways and transit construction was recently overwhelmingly passed by predominantly conservative statewide electorate in March. In other words, Californians understand the need for traffic relief. Whether one is a liberal environmentalist, a conservative who wants California tax dollars to return to our state, or merely someone who wants a better quality of life for Southern California, transportation is a non-partisan issue that should appeal to all of us—and our Congressional delegation needs your letter-writing support as they fight for our future.
   As a proud member of the organizing committee of the Mar Vista Community (Neighborhood) Council, I want to announce the Intermodal Transit Forum to be held Tuesday evening on April 9 (see related story, page 1.)
   As a physician, I want cleaner air for Southern California. As a taxpayer, I want my fair share from the government I subsidize. As a Southern California resident, I want relief from worsening freeway congestion. Most importantly, as the father of an amazingly sweet and beautiful 18-month-old baby boy, I want a better future for my son.
   Kenneth S. Alpern, M.D, is a member of the Organizing Committee, Mar Vista Community Council Steering Committees, Friends4Expo and Friends of the Green Line.