Pact Reached on Rail Job’s Impact on School : Safety: Metro Red Line construction firm says it will reduce truck traffic, noise and dust at excavation site near Los Feliz elementary facility. Board approves plan.

County transportation officials told Los Angeles school board members Monday they are prepared to do everything from reducing truck traffic to increasing the number of crossing guards near a proposed Metro Red Line construction site to ensure the safety of children at a nearby school.

The school board voted 4 to 2 to accept the agreement, which is aimed at reducing the level of noise, dust and traffic dangers to students and staff at Los Feliz Elementary School--cater-corner from the planned excavation site at Barnsdall Park on Hollywood Boulevard. The plan is scheduled to be considered Wednesday by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission for final approval.

A handful of parents and teachers attended the special board meeting to voice their opposition to the agreement, saying a full environmental impact report is needed to assess the health and safety impact of the project.

But district officials said the agreement offers more guarantees for the protection of students and staff than the district would have received from an environmental impact report, which identifies problems but does not have to offer solutions. A representative of the district’s environmental health and safety division said that independent tests conducted by the district showed that the excavation posed no significant dangers.

“It’s not enough to just be afraid of big projects. You have to have data to support it,” said board member Jeff Horton. “(The staff) feels the project will not pose a danger to the health and safety of students. . . . That’s why I’m able to support it.”

Under the agreement, the Rail Construction Corp.--a branch of the LACTC--said it will drastically reduce the daily trips of the 400 trucks needed for the 4 1/2-year project. Only 12 trucks will operate during school hours between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., reducing traffic by 90%. Truck traffic will halt between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. and between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

The agreement also states that the construction firm will cover conveyor belts to reduce dust, will install a hot line between the school and site in case of emergencies, and will set up a system to monitor the levels of dust, noise, and vibrations affecting the school.

“We’ve gone an extra step here to deal with the potential impact of the project,” said James L. Sowell, the firm’s manager of environmental compliance. “We have experience in building. . . . We have not had people inundated with dust (before), and we don’t expect it here.”

The construction company also has agreed to shut down the site immediately if a problem is discovered and said it would test all students and staff at Los Feliz for respiratory problems before the start of excavation to assess the project’s health impact.

Board member Julie Korenstein voted against the agreement, saying she remained unconvinced that all safety concerns were adequately addressed by the measures. She was joined by board member Barbara Boudreaux, who said her son died of asthma and “in good conscience, and in the memory of my son, I cannot support this.”

Several teachers and parents agreed, saying they questioned the long-range effects on children attending school across from an excavation site where officials say dirt piles could rise 35 feet.

“It only takes one truck to hit a child,” second-grade teacher Doris Rowe said. “We’re concerned about the safety of our children. . . . The kids in my class will go through elementary school never knowing peace and calm. Their lives are going to be impacted.”