Rail Plans Ignore Poor, Critics Say

Northeast San Fernando Valley leaders said Monday night that the flex of political muscle, instead of community needs, has dictated proposed light-rail routes.

During an NAACP meeting at the Boys & Girls Club in Pacoima that attracted about 40 Northeast Valley residents, strong support was voiced for a new movement to build north-south light-rail lines that would connect Sylmar with Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

Pacoima resident Thomas J. Montgomery said the five previously proposed east-west routes “would be a slap in the face for the people of the northeast Valley.”

Enid Jones of Sylmar said that she had seen it all before: “We do not have the money, the name, the push or the power. . . . We always get the shaft.”

Several speakers maintained that the big-business, big-money influence of Warner Center and Universal City had led city transit officials to favor the east-west lines.

Contacted earlier in the day, Jacki Bacharach, a member of the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and chairwoman of its Rail Construction Committee, said an east-west light rail was favored because it would connect with planned Metro Rail lines in Universal City, not because of political or economic pressure.

“One of our strong desires is to have a system with linkages,” Bacharach said. “We didn’t look at income levels or who has been snubbed.”

As described at Monday night’s meeting by former Northridge Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, the north-south trolley could roll alongside the Southern Pacific railroad tracks that parallel San Fernando Road.

Fiedler said such a line would relieve traffic pressure along the Golden State Freeway, ease congestion at several freeway interchanges and draw new public transportation riders from some of the Valley’s fastest growing areas.

“Historically, public transportation has gone to advantaged communities who are trying to develop business communities,” she said. “I felt that we needed to look at where there was a real need for public transit and fill that need with light rail.”

The county Transportation Commission halted its consideration of San Fernando Valley light rail in November, after community opposition began to dominate their meetings.

Since then, the City Council has appointed a 32-member citizens’ committee, on which Fiedler serves, to weigh the merits of the various proposals. Jose De Sosa, also a member of that committee and the NAACP state president, said he called Monday’s meeting to hear what the northeast Valley had to say.

“In all the other presentations that I have seen, there has been input from other ends of the Valley,” De Sosa said. “But the northeast part of the San Fernando Valley has been asleep.”

Among the proponents of the north-south route at Monday’s meeting were those who had opposed an east-west route through their communities.

“Our homeowners’ association will support you 100% no matter which way you want to go,” said Gerald A. Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino. “We promise our support to either help you push this forward or kill it.”

“This proposal makes a lot of sense for a lot of reasons,” said Tom Patterson, who represents the North Hollywood Residents Assn.

Lewis Snow, president of the Lake View Terrace Home Owners Assn., helped draft the north-south light-rail proposal discussed at the meeting. He said the north-south route would not preclude an east-west route, but it ought to come first.