In future, Metro Red Line could extend to Westwood

In future, Metro Red Line could extend to Westwood

Financial woes continue to hamper

subway construction

By Karen Duryea

Daily Bruin Staff

You’ve seen it race by in "Lethal Weapon 3," and you’ve seen
Sandra Bullock handcuffed to it in "Speed." But will you ever get
to see the Metro Red Line pass through Westwood?

With less than five miles of the Metro Red Line in operation,
officials said commuting Bruins won’t be able to reap the benefits
of a subway until after the turn of the century.

The Metro Red Line, which had its first route open in January
1993, currently serves passengers from downtown Los Angeles between
Union Station and Westlake/ MacArthur Park.

Officials said that the route will be expanded to Western Avenue
in July. Currently, a plan is in the works to extend the subway
line to the intersection of Pico and San Vicente Boulevards, said
Bill Heard, media representative of the government-funded
Metropol-itan Transportation Authority (MTA).

He explained that plans for the subway underneath Wilshire
Boulevard are on hold as a result of federal legislation
prohibiting subway construction any farther west. The ruling is due
to "some old (methane) gas fields in that area," Heard said.

Still, MTA is looking for alternatives to reaching the often
congested Wilshire Boulevard and eventually further west to the 405
freeway, but officials said such plans are"very very far in the
future."

"I don’t even have a date on it," Heard said.

The future extension to Westwood is not intended solely to aid
the transportation of the 5,000 students who commute daily to UCLA.
Officials also wanted an operating subway to help alleviate the
traffic jams along Wilshire Boulevard, Heard said.

"It is the business, residences and institutions like UCLA – all
of those things which make Wilshire busy," Heard commented.

Parking and Transportation Services at UCLA have been working
cooperatively with the MTA in the preliminary design stages.

"UCLA has been supportive of a linkage," said Penny Menton,
associate director of transportation services, though she said that
there is no definite site or plan to date.

In addition to the prohibition against tunneling beneath
Wilshire Boulevard, the MTA has been faced with numerous other
setbacks that have delayed construction well into the 21st
century.

Officials said that the organization must hurdle other
roadblocks to subway completion before the Metro Red Line extension
can become a priority.

"There are impediments at the moment that need to be dealt with
before we get out (to Wilshire Boulevard)," Heard said.

One of these "impediments" is public skepticism that the
benefits of the expensive subway will outweigh its gargantuan
costs. The Red Line has already cost the taxpayers $1.4 billion,
and the total cost of the project is estimated to top $70
billion.

Menton explained that new management and funding issues within
the MTA will affect construction, and Bruins will wait 10 to15
years before a linkage is made.

But despite the costs, some UCLA students believed the
astronomical expense and long delays will pay off in the
future.

"I think it’s a good idea," said Anthony Heard, a third-year
political science student. "It will free up a little bit of traffic
and clean up the environment."He also mentioned that light traffic
may attract an onslaught of drivers back to the freeways.

Commuters spend $117 quarterly on parking permits for campus
parking structures. Metro Red Line fares would, if ridden daily on
a round-trip basis, would cost less than half as much as a parking
permit each quarter.

Many students felt that the cost and stress of commuting to the
university make a subway system very attractive.

"Its so hard to get a parking permit, and its really hard to get
a parking spot," said John Kim, a fourth-year electrical
engineering student, as he awaited the Ackerman Express bus that
would shuttle him to Lot 32. "If (the Red Line) is cheaper and
frequent, it will be attractive to UCLA students."

In addition to a providing a less expensive commuting option,
students could ride to campus in comfort and safety. The current
Metro Rail provides a clean, air-conditioned environment complete
with security guards to ensure safety.

"The people on buses aren’t exactly the sanest people," said
Anthony Heard, who said he would utilize a subway if he didn’t live
within walking distance from UCLA.

To avoid damage in the event of an earthquake or fire, the
trains will be equipped with plastic tunnel walls to avoid seepage
of gas, and the train automatically sways with the earth, stopping
completely if a magnitude 4.5 earthquake hits, according to
information provided by the Metropolitan Transportation
Authority.

Other fears related to the subway arose last June, when an
unlicensed engineer caused an 80-foot wide "sinkhole" to collapse
during construction beneath Hollywood Boulevard. Construction was
halted for months, resulting in multi-million-dollar repair
costs.

But the possibility of earthquakes, sinkholes and gas leaks are
nothing compared to battling it out daily with other L.A. drivers,
Anthony Heard said.

"And walking in Westwood? Forget it. Drivers are too busy
looking at people they don’t understand ‘stop,’ Anthony Heard said.
"I don’t see how a train could be any worse."Comments to
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