As we get closer to tomorrow's monthly meeting (2 p.m. at 500 Temple Street) of the Expo Metro Line Construction Authority both sides in the debate over crossings at Dorsey High School have been actively firing up the troops. Tomorrow's expected fireworks will be over agenda item 6d which would re-examine the crossing designed for Farmdale Avenue, at Dorsey High School. Critics of the Expo Libe an at-grade crossing needlessly endangers the students. Supporters of the plan argue that the safety claim is a red herring for people that want to stop light rail expansion.
Last week, Friends 4 Expo Transit released a statement on one of the Farmdale Avenue crossings urging the Expo Authority to move forward with the project as quickly as possible, "Reopening the Expo Line's environmental clearance for a pedestrian bridge that neither improves safety and convenience, nor satisfies opponents demanding the whole line be underground, could upset the consensus for its consistent design standards, break the budget and schedule, and even kill the project."
This statement was immediately blasted in an email from Damien Goodmon, head of the Citizen's Campaign to Fix the Expo Line, who said, "Friends 4 Expo has finally officially put to paper what we have known all along: they have no concern for the catastrophic events that would occur at Farmdale crossing nor the learning environment at Dorsey High School." (For more debate on this subject, see the post at Metro Rider.)
Whatever side you come down on, this has been one of the most heated debates in the Los Angeles transportation scene. What happens at the board meeting tomorrow may go a long way in helping to settle this battle once and for all.
