Routing the New Light-Rail Line

A possible light-rail line and the impact of an upcoming environmental report on the Crenshaw Boulevard business corridor were discussed at a citizens advisory meeting last week.

Representatives from the Metropolitan Transit Authority, the Community Redevelopment Agency, City Councilman Nate Holden and several local business owners were at the Wednesday meeting along with 20 people from the community at Continental Cablevision, 2900 Crenshaw Blvd.

The proposed rail project would pass through the Crenshaw-Prairie corridor, linking the Metro Red Line, which currently links Union Station with MacArthur Park, with the Green Line, which will connect Norwalk with Los Angeles International Airport and open in early 1995.

Some possible stops for the local line, which may be built underground, would be Exposition Boulevard, Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza and Slauson Avenue.

The project is one of 10 proposed routes being considered by the Transit Authority, of which only two will be built.

A report on the environmental impact of the line will be finished by January, said project manager Dale Royal.

Also discussed was an environmental-impact report being done in conjunction with the 6th and 8th council districts to determine what kind of redevelopment or revitalization can be done along area business corridors. Results of the report, being conducted by Terry A. Hayes Associates, an independent urban and environmental planning consultant, should be finished by April, Hayes said.

The advisory committee, which was appointed by Holden, will help determine whether the Crenshaw Boulevard area should be redeveloped or revitalized. Under redevelopment an area can receive tax increments from the county to finance investments; under revitalization, an area can receive investment funds from private or public sources.