Diversion of Subway Route

Your article revisited the issue of routing the Metro Rail subway through the Westside with some confusing statistics provided from outside sources.

First, let me review where we are in planning the western route of the Metro Red Line. At its meeting last month, the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission (LACTC) voted unanimously to approve the Mid-City extension from its current terminus at Wilshire/Western that will add 2.3 miles and two stations at Crenshaw/Olympic and Pico/San Vicente.

This is part of the third segment of Metro Rail which was specifically approved by Congress for federal funding last year. In addition to this Mid-City extension, Congress also approved a 6.3-mile segment to North Hollywood and the first 3-mile segment to East Los Angeles. All of this will be operating by the year 2001. Ultimately, it is planned that by 2006 the subway will continue westward into Beverly Hills, Century City and Westwood.

We must proceed to the Pico/San Vicente location to accelerate our schedule west without conflicting with a congressional prohibition banning tunneling under the Miracle Mile area of Wilshire Boulevard because of concerns about pockets of methane gas. These prohibitions have been law for six years.

Nothing in these plans precludes returning to Wilshire Boulevard in the future.

Now, to clarify some statistics from your article: You quoted opponents of the Mid-City extension as stating that this route would have 48% fewer riders than if the subway ran under Wilshire. These numbers are not right. According to the 1987 environmental document, the two-station extension to Pico/San Vicente will have 38,160 weekday riders as compared to 28,750 riders if there were two stations at Wilshire/Crenshaw and Wilshire/La Brea. This provides 25% more riders than the Wilshire route.

Routing the subway to Pico/San Vicente allows us to pick up ridership from Koreatown, Olympic, Pico and Venice boulevards, Mid-City and southwest Los Angeles. There is ample land at Pico/San Vicente for the development of over 1,000 parking spots and a major transit center serving the Westside. This will also create economic opportunity in the area.

The article implies that Rep. Julian Dixon (D-Los Angeles) has opposed the subway under Wilshire because of methane concerns. This does not correctly reflect the record. During the controversy after the methane incident at Third and Fairfax in 1985, the Metro Rail project came under question in Congress. It was Dixon working with Reps. Waxman and Ed Roybal (D-Los Angeles) who worked out a legislative compromise to build around what was identified as a methane zone. Without Dixon’s efforts, Metro Rail would not have been built.

We are thrilled that we will be opening the first segment of the Metro Red Line in Los Angeles by June of 1993--next year.

JACKI BACHARACH, LACTC Commissioner