Subway project deemed unlikely

Soon, commuters seeking to avoid the Westside’s
car-clogged streets will have a mass transit system at their
disposal.

Just not where many say it is needed most.

Slowed down by political opposition and high costs, the proposal
to extend the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s Red Line
subway down Wilshire Boulevard to Santa Monica Boulevard is not
likely to pass soon.

Instead, plans have been approved to build a light rail line
farther south, along Exposition Boulevard.

The Expo Line would be less expensive because it would run above
ground rather than underground.

Currently, the Red Line runs from Union Station downtown and
stops at Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue.

Although the Expo Line would help alleviate some of the West
side’s traffic congestion, experts agree an extension of the
Red Line would carry more benefits, since the route would follow
Wilshire, the backbone of the most highly populated and
commercially dense section of the city.

The boulevard is the only corridor in Los Angeles where a subway
system is justifiable, said Brian Taylor, director of the Institute
of Transportation Studies at the UCLA School of Public Affairs.

Subways work best in high-density places containing high-rise
buildings, with people living and working in the area, which is why
Taylor said he finds it ironic that construction of a subway system
has yet to take place on Wilshire Boulevard, a place meeting all
three requisites.

Still, Taylor recognized that building a subway in a highly
dense area presents its share of problems, or what he calls the
“subway-planner’s dilemma”: The places that are
best-suited for a subway system are invariably the most expensive
areas to build, since surrounding businesses and people may have to
be moved during construction.

Though construction of the Expo Line, which may begin early next
year, will cost less than a Red Line extension, Taylor questions
whether the MTA will receive a return on its investment, since the
Expo Line’s service area is not as congested with people and
traffic as Wilshire.

The Expo Line is not a suitable substitute for a Red Line
extension, since it will be traveling above ground, said Genevieve
Giuliano, director of the Metrans Transportation Center, a joint
research center of USC and Cal State Long Beach.

“The Exposition light rail line is not going to give you
better service than buses,” she said.

She said a subway running parallel to Wilshire could improve the
commute of everyone in the UCLA area.

Though the project has been delayed, the extension of the Red
Line is a proposal that has not been completely discarded.

MTA spokesman Rick Jager said discussions with city officials
are ongoing, and even Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has voiced
support.

But he added there are significant hurdles that stand in the way
of the Red Line extension.

In 1986, following a methane gas explosion at a Ross store in
the Fairfax area, Congressman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., sponsored
legislation that would prevent federal funding for tunneling in
methane-gas risk zones.

Since the Red Line extension would run through a methane-gas
risk zone, the MTA is prohibited from drilling in the area.

Still, critics challenge the methane gas risk assertion and note
that the areas the Red Line currently runs to, which include Pico
and San Vicente Boulevards, contains higher levels of gas than the
proposed route along Wilshire.

Another hurdle facing the Red Line extension came in the form of
Proposition A, authored by Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev
Yaroslavsky, which was passed in 1998 and prevents local sales tax
from being used toward the building of a subway.

Yaroslavsky claimed the measure would result in excessive
spending by the MTA, but others, including Taylor, cite such
legislation as an example of politics overriding common sense.

Taylor said he believes the decision not to extend the Red Line
is part of a political process where mass transit construction
proposals are determined by which politicians want them the most,
and not by city necessity.

MTA officials have said that any proposed Red Line extension
would probably not happen in the next 10 years.

In the meantime, the MTA last week announced a reduced-price
busing plan for UCLA students, staff and faculty.

The Go Metro Transit Pass Program will provide UCLA transit
riders unlimited travel throughout the academic year on board all
Metro Bus and Metro Rail lines at half the cost of full-fare
riders. The price will be $45.50 for students and $78 for staff and
faculty beginning in the fall 2005 quarter.