Wanc Crenshaw Line Resolution

October 19, 2009 Roderick Diaz Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Crenshaw-South Bay Transit Line Project Manager One Gateway Plaza, M/S 99-22-3 Los Angeles, CA 90012-2952 [email protected] Re: Crenshaw-South Bay Line Draft EIR/S The West Adams Neighborhood Council (WANC) is a certified City of Los Angeles neighborhood council representing over 20,000 stakeholders. After much community discussion, WANC unanimously adopted the following position regarding the Crenshaw-South Bay Transit Line study. The WANC requests that the entire Crenshaw Boulevard portion of the Crenshaw Light Rail Line be placed underground with stations at Exposition Blvd, Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Vernon Ave, and Slauson Ave. Area stakeholders are particularly concerned about the safety of children, elderly, the disabled and motorists along the corridor. South L.A. is already home to America's deadliest light rail line, MTA's Blue Line, which has taken 95 lives and maimed and injured thousands more in over 842 reported accidents to date. Stakeholder’s lives should not be placed in jeopardy by 225-ton trains traveling at high speeds down Crenshaw Blvd. The only way the safety issue can be adequately mitigated is by placing the rail line underground on Crenshaw Blvd. The noise, vibration, and traffic impacts of at-grade crossings are also of profound concern. To add 24 Crenshaw Line crossings per hour during rush hour to the 24 proposed Expo Line crossings at the problematic Exposition/Crenshaw crossing will lead to a train crossing every 75 seconds and total gridlock for the area. As the center of Los Angeles' African-American community, Crenshaw Blvd is currently home to many public events and street festivals that would not be possible with an at-grade line. Furthermore, proposing at-grade crossings in South L.A. on the Crenshaw Line when the rail is proposed to be 100% underground when it is extended north of the I-10 freeway would be yet another case of environmental injustice perpetrated by the MTA and the region's transportation agencies. Jefferson Park deserves the same treatment as Hancock Park. West Adams deserves the same treatment as the communities on Wilshire. We look forward to continuing to participate in this important process. Sincerely, Hattie Babb President