County Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas yesterday introduced a motion to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board calling for Metro to create a fund for business losses caused by construction of the Crenshaw/LAX light rail line.
As he continues to seek a light rail station to be placed in Leimert Park, Mr. Ridley-Thomas wants Metro to devise plans for safety, local worker hiring and streetscape improvements along the route
“The Crenshaw/LAX line project is moving fast ahead,” he said. “As it is being built, we must also make sure the community doesn’t pay too high a price for its long-overdue rail service.
“The rail line is meant to cut traffic and improve safety. I want Metro to come up with solid plans to make sure that happens. The line should be built with workers from the community, and businesses disrupted by the construction need to be compensated,” he said.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas’s motion to create a “Community Benefits Package” will be agendized for the Aug. 4 MTA meeting.
The motion calls for Metro’s Chief Executive Officer to devise plans for:
• Safety along the street-level segment of the line on Crenshaw Boulevard between 48th Street and 59th Street.
• Traffic mitigation on the same segment to reduce congestion from the current “F” rating to at least a “C” grade.
• A local worker hiring program to assure at least 30 percent are from the local area and 10 percent are disadvantaged workers, as well as a program to grant 30 percent of contracting to small business enterprises.
• A business mitigation fund to assist local businesses impacted by the construction.
• A sidewalk, streetscape and local business improvement plan on Crenshaw Boulevard from Vernon Avenue to Stocker Street to enhance the corridor connecting Leimert Park to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Transit Station.
In May, the Metro board rejected a Ridley-Thomas proposal to put the rail line underground in the Park Mesa Heights community, between 48th Street and 59th Street along Crenshaw Boulevard.
Later the board voted to approve a Leimert Park Village station with a huge caveat: They did not authorize funding, leaving its future in question.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas said he is working to ensure the Leimert Park Village station gets built.
“As we continue to press for a rail station in Leimert Park Village, the cultural center of African American Los Angeles, we must also make sure construction of the project promotes the economic growth that is the foundation of that rich cultural life,” the supervisor said.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas said the Crenshaw/LAX rail project is on track for completion in 2016. Earlier, it had been designated as a bus-way with a 2029 completion date. The 8.5-mile line will run from Exposition Boulevard and Crenshaw Boulevard to LAX.
http://ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov/transportation/
