Higher Compensation Sought From MTA

The city Transportation Committee has decided to draft a letter asking the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to equitably compensate business owners along Lankershim Boulevard who would be negatively affected by upcoming road work.

The City Council must approve the Transportation Committee’s action at its meeting Tuesday before the letter could be sent to the MTA.

Subject to approval by the city Board of Public Works, Lankershim would close between Killion and Weddington streets 24 hours a day for 26 days beginning Sept. 14.

During the closure, the street would be repaved, traffic signals would be replaced and other maintenance work would be done, MTA spokesman Ed Scannell said.

The stretch of Lankershim needs repair because it was damaged by underground construction of the Metro Red Line, which will run from Universal City to a station at the corner of Lankershim and Chandler boulevards. The MTA had earmarked $150,000 to compensate North Hollywood business owners for such things as cleaning, advertising and parking.

But that is insufficient, the Transportation Committee decided Wednesday after Councilman Richard Alarcon, chairman of the panel, called for a public hearing on the matter.

Noting that businesses in Hollywood were given more than $16 million because of the negative effects of a similar MTA project, Alarcon said, “This issue is a matter of fairness.”

On Wednesday, North Hollywood business owners and supporters crowded into Room 314 at City Hall for about 1 1/2 hours to voice their displeasure about the MTA’s compensation offer.

“When the streets are closed and traffic is rerouted, people lose,” said Guy Weddington McCreary, who spoke on behalf of the Universal City-North Hollywood Chamber of Commerce. “It’s vital these people get a fair amount of compensation.”