Dig West, Young Man!
Nov 15, 2009
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It's Sunday afternoon, and after walking up and down Sunset Boulevard taking care of some errands, I'm sitting in our backyard with the view of Century City and the Wilshire Corridor in the far distance. I've grown to love that stretch of Wilshire, starting with the former Bullock's department store (now Southwestern Law School), slicing through Koreatown, the Miracle Mile, LACMA (LA's art museum), and finally posh Beverly Hills . . .continuing on to Westwood and Santa Monica. Wilshire Boulevard defines Los Angeles. If only I didn't have to drive there, but Henry Waxman and his fellow limousine liberal constituents delayed any planning for twenty-plus years, only to see traffic in their neighborhoods . . . get worse!
Well, by 2036, when most of us will have our driver's licenses taken away, and if we aren't relegated to using a walker, we'll be able to take that Purple Line to Westwood. If Mayor Antonio has his way, the stretch to LACMA will be completed in the next ten years. And today's Los Angeles Times has a story how community groups are going berserk, demanding that preciously limited transit funds go through their communities. Now there are two parties: those for the subway to the sea, and others who think an extension should wind from North Hollywood through the heavily populated neighborhoods of West Hollywood and Hollywood, allowing bustling sites like Cedars-Sinai and the Beverly Center to have railway access.
Both sides have their merits: Indeed, many folks who live in the valley drive over city streets including Beverly Glen, Topanga Canyon, and Laurel Canyon to get to work: they are scenic drives but hardly enjoyable during rush hour, and I'm sure residents who live in these adjoining neighborhoods would love to less cars every morning and evening. Nevertheless, it slays me that the communities of West Hollywood and Hollywood, which rarely want anything to do with the rest of Los Angeles, suddenly are clamouring to have subway stations in their stomping grounds. I have a feeling that once the NIMBYs of West Hollywood realize that rail construction means dust, delays, and drama, they may have a change of heart.
I want the subway to continue under Wilshire for countless reasons. Ridership is already there. The Wilshire extension would allow even more residents of the east Los Angeles area to commute to their jobs along the many business centers that are dotted along Wilshire. Even if it takes decades for the subway to reach Century City, Westwood, and Santa Monica, many commuters would still be willing to transfer to a bus to continue their daily journey . . . and reading about some of the commuters in today's Times article left me exhausted just pondering their daily routine. Many residents on the east side work in the service industry, whether they toil in the restaurants of K-town or the medical offices of Beverly Hills--and need cost-effective and timely transport to get to their jobs.
I don't have access to all the data, but based on the traffic patterns I see on Wilshire during the day . . . logic and ridership, not lobbying strength, should determine where the MTA first extends the subway. Finally, Cedars-Sinai, the Beverly Center, and other hubs are hardly inaccessible from Wilshire. One analyst was quoted that Angelinos won't walk more than a quarter of a mile, which to me made for a ridiculous reason to favor one subway extension over another.
Maybe we Angelinos should start practicing walking that 1,320 feet. Perhaps tomorrow?
If you think your neighborhood should have priority for the MTA subway extension, we'd like to hear why!
