Buying Railroad Rights-of-Way

Zane’s article on acquiring the Exposition right-of-way confirms the old adage: Never believe what politicians say. His seemingly innocuous article is laced with lies from his claim that light rail will go “over or under arterial intersections” to his equally false claim that the banging, bell-ringing “light” rail is a “quiet,” unobtrusive little trolley that will solve the congestion problems of the Westside. The executive director of the County Transportation Commission stated that along the 14-mile Exposition right-of-way only “two or three grade separations” are planned. The rest of the street crossings will be at grade level, further congesting the corridor.

This line runs through low-density residential neighborhoods, past single-family homes, schools, parks and libraries, not high-density residential and commercial areas. Acquiring the right-of-way is but the first step in a massive expenditure that would only aid the big developers in Santa Monica who want to railroad West L.A. to support their massive projects. When Zane refers to “proven” rail systems, he rejects all the data coming from the U.S. Department of Transportation which released a 10-city analysis criticizing urban rail projects for repeatedly underestimating construction costs, overestimating ridership, and underestimating operating subsidies.

There is absolutely no evidence that railroading the Westside will do anything but further complicate our situation, waste taxpayer dollars, and clog our already overburdened cross-town streets.

B.W. MANASTER

Los Angeles