Crenshaw Line Resolution

CITY OF LOS ANGELES Elected Members

CALIFORNIA

Chair Lark Galloway-Gilliam

Treasurer Lanz Alexander

Co-Chair Damien W.C. Goodmon

At-Large Representatives D. Malcolm Carson Kevin Fridlington Christine Hall Johnnie Raines Jackie Ryan

Secretary Karen Ceasar Area 1 Representatives Mary Jones-Darks Tommy Plummer Area 2 Representatives David Winston Chris Shoaf Area 3 Representatives Michelle Colbert Rev. Lee Walker

Appointed Members

A Certified City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Council

EMPOWERMENT CONGRESS WEST AREA NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL Contact Information: 3761 Stocker St – Suite 108 Los Angeles, CA 90008 Telephone: (323) 295-5766 www.ecwandc.org

Town Hall Meetings 1st Wednesday of the month 4305 Degnan Blvd 6:30 – 8:30 pm Board Meetings 3rd Tuesday of the month 3731 Stocker St Suite 201 6:30 – 8:30 pm

CRENSHAW-SOUTH BAY LINE RESOLUTION AND RECOMMENDATIONS OCTOBER 20, 2009

Whereas, the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council supports and encourages the development of transportation solutions within Los Angeles for the purposes of reducing traffic and congestion, pollution, and the consumption of fossil fuels as long as the proposal is safe, efficient and complies with environmental justice principles; Whereas, articulated buses already serve Crenshaw Blvd, the Bus Rapid Transit option is insufficient to meet the future transportation needs of the corridor, and the Crenshaw corridor has a high percentage of transit dependent residents who rely on, need and deserve access to 21st century transportation; Whereas, at-grade rail crossings for trains that will operate all hours of the day and will impact the community frequently and consistently for generations would generate a substantial environmental impact to the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council; Whereas, at 225-tons and traveling up to 40 and 55 mph, at-grade light rail crossings pose a significant risk to pedestrian, motorist and passenger safety, and 2007 Federal Transit Administration statistics indicate at-grade light rail lines are the most accident-prone of public transit modes; Whereas, the MTA’s primarily at-grade light rail Blue Line is the nation’s deadliest with 842 reported accidents resulting in 95 deaths to date, including children, elderly, disabled and single mothers; Whereas, West Angelus Cathedral, View Park Prep School, Al-Madinah School, and numerous other day cares, schools and places of worship are within 100 feet of the Crenshaw Line, Crenshaw High School is one block away from the Crenshaw Line, and children frequently cross Crenshaw Blvd along the corridor; Whereas, the overall emergency service needs of the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council would suffer from accident inducing at-grade crossings; Whereas, traffic circulation would be severely impacted by at-grade crossings, in particular at and near Exposition/Crenshaw where 48 train crossings during rush hour equates to a crossing every 75 seconds; Whereas, the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council already has the unfortunate distinction of being one of the nation’s highest cancer clusters, and worsened air quality from increased congestion will contribute to the crisis; Crenshaw-South Bay Line Project Resolution and Recommendations

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Whereas, Crenshaw Blvd is a frequent location for filming and festivals, and the passing of 225-ton trains frequently atgrade throughout the day would jeopardize the infusion of outside dollars into our community; Whereas, Crenshaw Blvd is currently free of overhead utility lines, and overhead catenary wires and elevated structures would be out of character and challenge Crenshaw’s scenic highway status; Whereas, from 39th Street to 48th Street Crenshaw Blvd is too narrow to accommodate cut-and-cover construction and such construction would have a devastating impact on the local business community and economy; Whereas, Leimert Park Village is an unique African-American cultural destination that deserves and needs to be directly served by a station at Vernon Avenue; Whereas, train horns, bells, whistles, track switches and crossing gates cause noise; Whereas, at-grade crossings have several negative externalities that will be borne by taxpayers long after the construction of the Crenshaw-South Bay Line including: lawsuits due to the loss of life and limb, traffic gate and signal maintenance cost, lost productivity and delays due to train/auto and train/pedestrian accidents, worsened local air quality and higher health care costs from idling engines due to at-grade crossings; Whereas, a Crenshaw-South Bay Line that is completely underground on Crenshaw Blvd would mitigate all negative operational impacts on Crenshaw Blvd, and produce a higher return on the large taxpayer investment through increased ridership, reduced travel times for transit patrons, reduced annual operating costs, and increased capacity for spurs that can serve several parts of the region; Whereas, South Los Angeles stakeholders are being taxed to pay for an approximately $6 billion dollar Subway to the Sea under the affluent and majority Caucasian Wilshire corridor; Whereas, the current Crenshaw-South Bay Line northern extension feasibility study indicates that the entire portion of the Crenshaw Line north of the I-10 freeway will be built underground; Whereas, the South Los Angeles community has endured decades of environmental injustice as it pertains to transportation, including but not limited to the construction of the I-10 freeway, I-110 freeway, I-110 Transitway, I-105 freeway, MTA Blue Line, and MTA Expo Line Phase 1; Whereas, the downturn in the economy has hit the South Los Angeles community the hardest; Whereas, the political leadership of South Los Angeles has the capacity, standing and has significant influence (federal, state and local) on the relevant committees, boards, and commissions to represent and meet the needs of the community; therefore, Be it resolved, that the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council supports the creation of a Crenshaw-South Bay light rail line that is entirely underground on Crenshaw Blvd with stations at Exposition Blvd, Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Vernon Avenue, and Slauson Avenue, including a bored tunnel between 39th Street and 48th Street at a minimum; Be it resolved, that the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council supports the community’s efforts to place all currently proposed Crenshaw-South Bay Line at-grade crossings underground; Be it resolved, that the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council encourages MTA and local political leadership to immediately implement programs and policies to prepare and place candidates from our community for employment in the construction of the Crenshaw-South Bay Line; Be it further resolved, that the Empowerment Congress West Area Neighborhood Development Council demands that the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority fulfill the need of Crenshaw corridor citizens for a safe, efficient and least environmentally-disruptive Crenshaw Line that is entirely underground on Crenshaw Blvd.

END Crenshaw-South Bay Line Project Resolution and Recommendations

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