Hundreds Have Their Say About Blue Line Plan

The public agency that wants to build a light-rail line between Pasadena and Los Angeles hoped to avoid the pitfalls that have bogged down other major mass transit projects in the region.

It had the path: a dedicated right of way where passenger trains had run for nearly 100 years. It had the money: $732 million set aside in an agreement pushed by the state. It had the mandate: get the job done on time and on budget, as promised to the state and local politicians, who agreed to pay for the job.

But with work on the Pasadena Blue Line halfway done, critics on Monday told a state hearing officer that the project will make neighboring streets crowded, loud and unsafe.

Those opponents were countered by a group that says the line remains a prototype for the region and that slowing it could cripple not only the Blue Line but other mass transit projects.

The two sides packed a hearing room in downtown Los Angeles before an administrative law judge from the state Public Utilities Commission. Judge Sheldon Rosenthal will make recommendations to the commission, which oversees all rail crossings in the state.

The five-member PUC, in turn, can either approve the design of dozens of intersections where the rail line crosses public streets, or order significant modifications.

Emotion ran thick at the six-hour session, attended by 300 people.

“This isn’t just about trains,” commented one activist, a Mt. Washington resident worried about the safety of children living near densely packed Marmion Way. “It’s about life and death.”

Transit advocate Darrell Clarke said it’s crucial that the Blue Line continue on time and on budget so the public and potential funders will have the confidence to move ahead with other rail projects.

“We see Pasadena as extremely important to our future,” said Clarke, co-chairman of a group that supports construction of a rail line from the downtown area to the Westside.

At issue Monday were the dozens of locations where the Pasadena line will cross public streets on its 13.7-mile route from Union Station to eastern Pasadena.

The Pasadena Blue Line Construction Authority says it has done everything it can to make the crossings safe--designing special gates to completely block cars and pedestrians from passing trains; synchronizing traffic signals to avoid congestion, and lessening noise through sound walls and specially designed warning horns.

But moving on a tight schedule and with limited funds, the agency decided to get the approval from the PUC for the crossings in the midst of construction.

That decision has come back to haunt the project, with even supporters now saying that they would not be able to afford the estimated $300 million more it could cost to raise the line on to bridges or to sink it underground.

“It’s time for us to make good on our promise” and finish the rail line, said state Sen. Richard Polanco (D-Los Angeles).

The additional potential cost of $300 million would probably quash the entire project or delay it for years, he said. There are “no funds available” from the state and none likely from the federal government, particularly during the current economic downturn, said Polanco.

Other elected officials contended that the line would grant unprecedented access to transit-dependent riders, alleviate traffic and provide significant economic development.

But a group of activists from Mt. Washington, Highland Park and Pasadena told Rosenthal that the train should be forced to go under or above ground. They repeatedly took to the rostrum and said that the mix of trains, cars and pedestrians in dense urban neighborhoods will cause a bevy of problems: safety hazards, backed-up traffic and a diminished quality of life. Horns from the trains would sound 200 times a day.

“How many lives have to be sacrificed in order to save money and get this project done expeditiously?” asked Mt. Washington resident Arline DeSanctis.