Comments on The LA Subway Blog: The Thin Red Line: A Review of Taylor, Kim, & Gahb...

A large part of shutting down the Wilshire route w...

2010-01-05T21:33:37.450-08:00

A large part of shutting down the Wilshire route was also a combination of other factors.

Part was almost total opposition by Hancock Park resident to the subway coming through their neighborhood. You still see part of this in the debate about the Crenshaw line.

The Fairfax district also was covered by rent control and it was perceived that the subway would gentrify and displace long term Jewish voters by making the neighborhood too accessible. Those issues no longer matter because rent control has almost disappeared with vacancy decontrol and The Grove changed the neighborhood completely.

Zev was councilman in the Fairfax District at the time and was the lead. Waxman was just implementing local wishes.

The Valley also felt short-changed and never supported the Wilshire line without their "Fair share". The Valley fought for years against transit and even the Orange line was a battle to get consensus and approval.

Remember also, that the construction of the subway lines left a path of wrecked businesses and huge impacts during construction. Seeing the aftermath, few neighborhoods were enthused about ripping out streets and embracing density. New construction techniques nad the advanced boring machines have changed the style of construction and the impacts.

It has taken almost total grid-lock and higher fuel costs and stressed lives to convince folks that subways are the new religion.

This is version of local history is FUBAR (presumi...

2009-12-29T12:38:22.257-08:00

This is version of local history is FUBAR (presuming that the summary accurately reflects the academic paper). Henry Waxman was only responding to the strenuous lobbying of local elected officals [Zev Yaroslavsky, then an LA City Councilman, in particular] against any extension of the Wilshire subway beyond Western Avenue following the methane explosion near Third and Fairfax in 1985. Several years later Zev energetically backed a ballot initiative which prohibited the expenditure of County Prop A or Prop C funds for further subway construction ANYWHERE in LA County. Voters approved it, and the prohibition remains in place to this day. It is only because Measure R passed in 2008 (this time, with Zev's support) that there is now a local source of funding for the Wilshire subway. Antonio's "lobbying" of Henry Waxman to re-open the federal spigot for subway tunneling under Wilshire west of La Brea was not a critical factor in reviving the Wilshire alignment. Henry Waxman was never the primary obstacle.

Yessss... I'd like to point out that I ALWAYS ...

2009-12-27T23:48:28.284-08:00

Yessss...
I'd like to point out that I ALWAYS refer to Ross by its full name (Ross Dress for Less) when also discussing the methane explosion under said store. Somehow, saying Ross Dress For Less just evokes the right tone for me.