Cross-Town Fight Erupts Over Street Repair Plan

A City Council debate on a routine street repair project erupted into a nasty cross-town battle Wednesday when lawmakers from the central city protested because the work is scheduled to take place in the San Fernando Valley.

Discussion over the $570,000 program to remove and pave over old railroad crossings grew so heated that council President John Ferraro had to sternly reprimand council members.

“We have to realize that we are one city, not two or three cities,” said Ferraro before a vote on the matter was delayed until Friday.

Nonetheless, council members Mike Hernandez, Nate Holden and Jackie Goldberg continued to question why the Valley was to benefit from the program while other parts of the city still suffer.

“Do we really believe in equity?” asked a visibly angry Hernandez, who represents parts of the Eastside.

Transportation officials said the Valley program is just the first phase of a citywide effort to pave over crossings to improve traffic flow.

“You have to start someplace,” said Richard Jaramillo, a city Transportation Department engineer.

He also warned that unless state funds for the program are spent soon, they could revert to the state.

The debate revealed the ill will that lingers from previous feuds between representatives of the Valley and the central city.

The tensions date back to the Northridge earthquake, when representatives from South and Central Los Angeles complained that damage to areas outside the Valley was largely ignored.

Since then, lawmakers from the Valley and central city have clashed over council decisions to set new water and sewer rates that benefited Valley residents.

The $573,600 street improvement program would pay to remove 37 abandoned railroad crossings throughout the Valley and rebuild the roadways there. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has already approved 80% of the funding with state transit dollars, leaving the city to pay the $115,000 balance with local transit money.

City transportation officials praised the program, saying the abandoned tracks slow traffic because city shuttle buses are required by law to stop at them even though they are no longer in use. In addition, Valley council members say they are inundated with complaints from commuters who must regularly drive over the bumpy tracks.

During the debate, Goldberg and Hernandez asked why the Valley project was given priority over other parts of the city.

Jaramillo said there was no political agenda in selecting the Valley for the first phase of the project. Because of staffing shortages, he said, street maintenance crews can only repair two railroad crossings per month.