Calling it a “huge victory for the residents of Los Angeles County,” Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas this afternoon praised the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s unanimous vote to build a light rail system through the 8.5-square-mile Crenshaw to the Los Angeles International Airport Corridor.
The MTA Board also approved his proposal to study the feasibility of a 0.9 mile below-grade (subway) rail connection between 48th and 59th streets.
“This project is long overdue,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas said. “It will provide congestion relief, improve air quality and serve as an economic catalyst.” He also succeeded in moving up the timeline for the project from 2029 to between 2016 and 2018.
The day was a notable victory all around for Mr. Ridley-Thomas, who fought to ensure that safety issues and concerns of business were addressed
The Supervisor’s request was in response to an overwhelming number of residents who called for the study during the MTA’s community outreach to solicit comments on the project’s Draft Environmental Impact Report/Draft Environmental Impact Statement.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas hailed the approval of the rail line as a goal set forth “more than a quarter-century ago, beginning with Mayor Tom Bradley all the way to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, as Julian Dixon and Diane Watson stood behind it in the middle.
“Light rail – rather than a rapid bus alternative – was the overwhelming choice of the 400 people who attended four public hearings, many of whom packed today’s MTA Board meeting.”
He acknowledged the thunderous applause that erupted in the board room and from two additional rooms set up to accommodate an overflow of community supporters and stakeholders.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas championed the $1.7 billion project, which, according to MTA staff projections, will generate 7,800 jobs, twice as many as the bus rapid transit alternative would have produced.
Clergy, business and community leaders, and representatives of elected officials were among those on hand to express support for the rail line that will run through the cities of Los Angeles, Inglewood, Hawthorne, and El Segundo, as well as unincorporated areas of the County and LAX.
The light rail will be the first alternative transportation project to relieve congestion on the 405 Freeway and other north-south arteries in the west portion of the County.
The Supervisor said the voting represented “a huge victory for the people who live along this corridor and South Bay Community and literally a quarter century late in coming. This will have a hugely positive impact on the Crenshaw Corridor in the South Bay.”
