Expo Construction Authority

For transit supporters, all eyes are going to be set on a court room in Norwalk today for the hearing that will determine the short-term future of light rail in West L.A., but as they're traveling to the Courthouse the Times has given them some reading material.

Last week, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for the proposed Farmdale Station for the Expo Line, clearing the Expo Construction Authority to begin construction of the station.  The Notice of Availability for the FONSI can be found at the end of the article, or you can link to the relevant documents at the Expo Construction Authority's website.

Expo supporter Gökhan Esirgen attended a special meeting of the Westside Neighborhood Council last night featuring a presentation by the Expo Construction Authority.  Esrigen sent an email afterwards to other supporters and media, which can be read after the jump, but here are some of the highlights of Expo's presentation.

Homeowner's whose houses abut the future Expo Bike Path have filed suit to force a full environmental review of the bikeway.  The lawsuit charges that LADOT and Caltrans didn't provide a complete view of the bikeway while applying for and granting  a Categorical Exclusion (CE), a designation which exempted the project from a full federal environmental review.

The first round of the "Last Battle of Farmdale" has been decided, and it appears to be a rout for those supporting the creation of a new station for the Expo Line at the intersection of Farmdale and Exposition Boulevard in front of Dorsey High School. Yesterday afternoon, California Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Maribeth A. Bushey ruled that the construction of an at-grade station satisfies C.P.U.C.'s safety requirements for the intersection. The full C.P.U.C. Committee can overturn Bushey's decision after public comment, which ends on July 13, but Bushey's ruling is a blow to those fighting for a grade-separates Expo Line.

To say that the proposed rail crossing for the Expo Line on Farmdale Avenue near Dorsey High School is controversial would be like saying that a few cyclists have issues with the way L.A. designs its streets...it would be a gross understatement. Now, with a hearing date of June 1 set by the California Public Utilities Commission over a plan to build a station at the Farmdale crossing, the Expo Line might finally be facing its last hurdle before Phase I is completed.

In the tradition of LA Bike Plan.com and Bus Riders Union.com comes a new website Neighbors for Smarter Rail.  Of course, Neighbors for Smart Rail is the name of the coalition of neighborhood and other community groups that are opposing the current alignment of the Expo Line through the Westside until the line runs below-grade.

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 and Farmdale Avenue, right next to Dorsey High School.  The CPUC has previously ruled that the intersection has to have a pedestrian bridge because the proposed at-grade design was ruled unsafe.  You can read the full text of Bushey's proposal, here.  If you're just interested in reading about the design of such a station, post #872 on the Expo Forum on the Transit Coalition message boards has the details.

As predicted, the Westside Coalition of homeowners and businesses opposed to the construction of Phase II of the Expo Line at-grade through portions of the Westside have filed a petition to have the certification of the FEIR for the project overturned.  You can read the full, twenty-six page, petition exclusively at Streetsblog, here, but the rationale for the challenge can be found on page three of the document: