LACMTA considers Green Line extension

The Los Angeles Metro Transit Authority is exploring ways to provide commuters with an alternative to the 405 freeway by extending the South Bay Metro Green Line. One option is into North Redondo Beach, to many residents' dismay, the Beach Reporter reports.

The MTA is currently
conducting an environmental review of a more comprehensive South Bay
transportation network that, according to an agency fact sheet, would improve
mobility in southwest Los Angeles County by assessing "the regional rail
network through connections to the Metro Blue Line" and the potential
Crenshaw/LAX Transit Corridor.

But many residents in North
Redondo Beach have already begun protesting the changes, citing quality-of-life
concerns that a noisy passenger train and station would impose located so close
to their homes.

"We’re in the very early
stages of the Environmental (Impact) Report, and so as we go through the
environmental process, we’ll be looking at things, such as the concerns that
were brought up, and seeing what needs to be done – if anything – to address
(the residents’) concerns," said Renee Berlin, an executive officer in MTA’s
planning department. "But at this point, I can’t tell you because we haven’t
really gotten into the environmental document yet. We just did the first phase,
which is conducting the scoping."

To that end, Redondo
Councilman Steve Diels said, "(MTA) did the studies regarding the various
alignment options, and now they’re doing public outreach (through) scoping studies.
I have been letting my constituents know all along that all this is happening.
But since the scoping studies started, now they’re really concerned because
they seem to think that the construction is imminent. There’s no evidence (of
that). The wildest, optimistic estimates would be that construction could occur
in five years. The likelihood is, it’s 10 to 30 years." Diels admitted that the
residents whose homes abut the railroad tracks would receive the biggest
impact.

"They are so wrong," Bruce
Szeles, a District 4 resident, said of the officials’ 10- to 30-year estimate.

According to Berlin, the
MTA board recently adopted L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 30/10 plan for
metro transit, which directs transportation providers to find funding for all
the Measure "R" projects, "to expedite their delivery, and to deliver,
basically, 30 years’ (worth) of projects in 10 years," Berlin said.

According to Metro’s Web
site, $272 million worth of Measure "R" funds will go toward funding the
extension, but Szeles claims the city would receive money in addition to that.
Measure "R" consists of a half-cent sales tax increase that voters approved in
November of 2008. The proceeds go toward transit projects, and the measure is
expected to generate about $40 billion throughout its 30-year lifespan,
according to Metro’s Website.

Some city residents wonder
why the extension can’t be run down Hawthorne Boulevard instead.

"The project manager was
given that question," Szeles said. "His response was that they did look into
it, and that the cities of Lawndale and Torrance just redid their sections of
Hawthorne Boulevard (and so) they were opposed to it."

"Back in the late 1990s, we
and the South Bay did a route refinement study," Berlin said. "We looked at
Hawthorne Boulevard at that time. Since that time, there have been a lot of
changes and redevelopment on Hawthorne Boulevard. We own the rail right of way,
which was purchased specifically for a transit corridor. There would be far less
impact (on views and traffic) if we use the existing rail lines. Since we own
the asset, we’d like to use it."

Berlin added that MTA
conducted an alternative analysis study last year, "and Hawthorne Boulevard was
taken out of consideration at that time.

The Green Line now runs
north and south, from the LAX airport area and ends at Marine Avenue. The
proposed extension would travel through Lawndale, Redondo Beach and Torrance.
In Redondo, it would cross Artesia Boulevard just north of where it intersects
Inglewood Avenue, and then dip below a train trellis along the Breakwater
Village condominium complex, heading toward the South Bay Galleria shopping
mall.

"The railroad tracks were
originally, exclusively freight line tracks. Then, years back, they built the
Alameda Corridor, and when (that happened), the MTA got the rights to put
passenger service on the tracks, where the old freight line exists," Diels
said.

The MTA will review and
analyze four new options. The first, a Light Rail Alternative, would extend the
Green Line from its current Redondo Beach Station terminus to the proposed
Torrance Regional Transit Center.

The second is a Freight
Track Alternative, which would provide new rail service on upgraded Harbor
Subdivision railroad tracks from Century/Aviation boulevards to the planned
Torrance RTC.

The third, a No-build
Alternative, would allow for a transportation network without the proposed
project.

Finally, a Transportation
Systems Management Alternative would provide lower-cost capital and operational
improvements, such as improved signal synchronization designed to improve bus
speed. These and the environmental process are outlined briefly in the
aforementioned overview fact sheet, which can be found at www.metro.net.

According to SB Metro, an
Alternatives Analysis study was completed prior to initiating the environmental
review. The AA study evaluated the potential transit alternatives that could
utilize the Metro-owned railroad right of way known as the Harbor Subdivision.
According to SB Metro’s Website, the SBMGLE emerged as the AA study’s highest
priority. In December of 2009, the Metro board of directors approved moving
forward into the draft Environmental Impact Statement/ Environmental Impact
Report phase of project development.

Concerned residents have
until May 28 to air their grievances with Metro.