West Athens Westmont Community Task Force

Know what/who to fight for p3/3

group is not all from West LA. It?’s from all over, including Crenshaw and Baldwin Hills. We set up the Crenshaw meeting to help get people informed.

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See above. Besides, there are stations for the Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills area. The BRU accuses the MTA rail planners of building rail lines for white areas. Now you're saying they discriminate against minority areas because they want to build a rail line in Baldwin Hills and Crenshaw?

<< This is an illegal, self-serving conflict of interest when the EIR/Study already plans to re-route the train away from the backyards of the Cheviot Hills residences on the westside of Exposition Blvd.>>

Friends4Expo also has members who are Cheviot Hills/Rancho Park homeowners who want the train on the original right of way in their neighborhoods too. Unfortunately, their homeowners associations were co-opted by some very racists people who don't want the train bringing ''those people'' into their neighborhood. As I explained above, Yvonne Burke and, apparently, Zev Yaroslovsky promised them it would never come into their area. I suggest you work hard to unseat County Supervisors who are willing to make deals like that. For now, you can support the Expo Line AT GRADE everywhere (meaning on the surface at USC) and on the original right of way all the way (meaning through Cheviot and Rancho Park).

<< The existing plan does NOT avoid the residences on Exposition Blvd. between La Cienega and Vermont Ave. Why is the rail plan NOT ok in the Cheviot Hills backyards, NOT ok in USC's front yard, but OK in our front yard?>>

I agree. It's not OK to set different standards in different neighborhoods. It's absurd. So use your energies to write letters to Yvonne Burke and the other county supervisors
saying you want all communities held to the same standard. Start a petition. I'll sign it too.

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So let's fix the plan. I spent quite a few weekends collecting signatures in support of this line. I know the people at Friends4Expo and they are good people of all races who live up and down the line. Like you with your organization, Patrick, they want to see their environment improved. Light rail is electrically powered and, therefor, generates no emissions. It's a far superior way to get around than sitting in fume-choked traffic. It's used all over Europe and in many Western cities, such as San Diego, San Francisco, and Long Beach. An east-west line on Expo would be great. So help us fight for a good, equitable project. But know who your friends are. You?’re obviously very interested in the environment so you should support light rail in general (LA?’s traffic and pollution isn?’t going to be protested away?…we need to build solutions). The question here is are you willing to do the legwork to help assure Expo rail is built right and the problems are corrected, or do you just want to complain? Complaining is easy. Fixing problems takes hard work.

Best,
Roger

Dealing with trains...

''Our congressman should always inform us of all major changes to our community were property values are going to be effective.''

If you got a newsletter and responded, obviously you were informed. Also, the plan to build light rail on Expo has been written about in all the major (and minor) area newspapers. There have also been pieces on TV and radio. Not to mention the fact that it is already a railroad line that only went dormant in 1987. You can't move next to a rail line and not expect to some day see trains.

That said, in other cities rail access actually increases property values, albeit marginally. The existing Long Beach light rail line has, thus far, had no effect up or down on values. Houses by the line were cheaper to start with because the line is ugly right now and has no service to offer. But when it becomes a service, it increases access from your home. That's a selling point. Analysts believe when the MetroRail line reaches enough people, it will start to boost property values in LA, the same way it has in other cities.

As for noise, the original plan, pushed by County Supervisors Zev Yarsolvsky and Yvonne Burke, was to pave it over and run a noisy bus on that line. Light rail uses electric propulsion and produces no emissions. It's also far quieter because there are motors (not engines) to drive it. Also, buses would have run far more frequently and would be slower. Friends4Expo opposed busway because, as a group of concerned citizens--many of us who live right on the line in Crenshaw and Baldwin Hills--we wanted to have the same quality of service other areas of the region are getting. We didn't want a second-class busway.

We're looking out for your interests, because it's OUR interests too. We have experienced light rail in other cities and know its benefit. This can be a good project that benefits us all.


R

Friends4Expo--not just Westside!

Friends4Expo is comprised from people all over L.A.--yes, with a large number of Westsiders--who wants communities to be connected and who wants traffic relief for everyone.

We share the outrage of anyone who feels that certain communities (in particular, Cheviot Hills) who wants an inappropriate diversion into Culver City--but guess what? The Westside hates this diversion, too.

USC and its tunnel is a ridiculous expenditure of money that is meant to reduce accidents but will only set a bad precedent.

If Expo Neighbors wants to vent its outrage at the politicians who pursued these ridiculous diversions (most of these politicians are African Americans, interesting enough), then it should do so.

Friends4Expo has members of all ethnicities--and we want ALL neighborhoods, from the Westside to the Mid-City to the Eastside--to get access to each other via the MTA's growing rail network.

The Internet also links individuals and neighborhoods together, as Friends4Expo has learned.

Our website is www.friends4expo.org

We welcome all citizens, from all localities, who are tired of traffic and gridlock--and who are tired also of transit-dependent individuals having only decades-old buses when more modern electric rail technology exists to improve their commutes.

By ken

Why are hundreds of yard signs posted in the front yards of Overland/Cheviiot Hills homeowners in phase 2 of the Exposition light rail project? They all have a sincere concern about safety issues.

There must be tremendous inequities related the building of this rail project.

I made a statement about not being in the planing process, I guess I'm not the only one  who feels that way.