Does Metrolink Disaster Point to Need for Grade Separated Expo?

9_25_08_rosendahl.gifYesterday afternoon, the City Council Transportation Committee heard testimony about the response of emergency responders to the September 12th Metrolink crash.  Towards the end of the hearing, a fiery Bill Rosendahl sounded off about the need to place a higher priority on safety when building new rail projects.  His comments were clearly directed at the Expo Construction Authority, and were later echoed by community leaders during open testimony:

We need to reconsider what’s important.  I don’t want to hear ever again ‘it’s cheaper to build it at grade’ or ‘it’s faster to build it at grade.’  I don’t care about the price, I want to hear about the safety.

After testimony from Fix Expo, Neighbors for Smart Rail, and representatives from the South and Westside Neighborhood Councils, Jay Handal of the Greater West Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce summarized the commenter’s thoughts:

How many deaths will it take to get the job done right?

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Westsiders Vent at Last Night’s Expo Meeting

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  Last night the Expo Construction Authority held a community meeting in the Vista Del Mar Child and Family Services Gymnasium, right in the heart of a community that has historically been opposed to construction of Phase II of the Expo Line.  As expected, it was hard to find a supporter of extending light rail […]

Hearings on Expo Phase II DEIR Begin Tomorrow

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The Exposition Construction Authority, the quasi independent agency charged with building the Expo Line, will hold three hearings on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement tomorrow.  There will be two more hearings next week, and each provide an opportunity to make your voice heard on what kind of Expo Line you wish to see. The largest […]

Expo Station Coming to Farmdale and Exposition?

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Thanks for the overview, Curbed The strange saga of the Expo Light Rail Line continued yesterday when Judge Maribeth Bushey of the California Public Utilities Commission issued a proposed amendment to the environmental documents for the Expo Line Phase I that would allow the construction of a rail station at the intersection of Exposition Boulevard […]

Students, Professors Acitivsts Call for Grade-Separated Connector

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Image: Metro.net Last night Metro, kicked off a week of public outreach for the environmental studies for the Downtown Connector,aka Regional Connector, with a meeting at the University of Southern California.  This marked the first time that they held a meeting at USC as previous efforts had focused on the Downtown and Chinatown.  For those […]

It’s Official: Expo Construction Contract, Aerial Station, and No Westwood Parking Approved by Expo Board

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Earlier this afternoon, the Expo Construction Authority Board of Directors approved a $541.7 million design-build contract to the Skanska/Rados team, a no-commuter parking option for the Westwood Station and an aerial station for the Sepulveda Boulevard Station.  Earlier in the day, the Los Angeles City Council had unanimously backed the Rosendahl/Koretz motion funding the Sepulveda […]