Zev Yaroslavsky

(We just found out from Metro, via email and The Source, that the Regional Connector discussion is being moved until next month so "local concerns" can be addressed in the financial district. - DN)

Earlier today, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors quickly and unanimously passed a motion by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky urging for progressive changes to the L.A. County Draft Bike Plan.  The L.A. County Bike Plan addresses the "unincorporated" parts of L.A. County (those without a municipal government) such as Marina del Rey.

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's answers to our reader questionnaire were so detailed that we decided to break the questions in to two parts.  There is just so much to chew on in this section, such as Zev's views on the Westside Subway Station Debate, the importance of a subway and the future of the I-405 Transit Corridor.  We've said enough about Zev over the years, so now it's his turn.  As always, all questions came from you, the readers, and the Supervisor's staff assures me that all answers came from Zev himself.

Parts two and three of your questionnaire with Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky focused mainly on what I'm referring to as "People Powered Transportation" (the Alliance for Walking and Bicycling's chosen term for traveling without a car and not by transit) and a separate section with two tongue-and-cheek questions.  Sadly, he didn't take my bait and announce his candidacy for Mayor.

If there's one politician we've given a hard time to here at Streetsblog, it's County Supervisor and Metro Board Member Zev Yaroslavsky. Yesterday while we were IM'ing on Facebook (really!) I asked if he would join LADOT General Manager LADOT General Manager Jaime De La Vega and LAPD Sgt. David Krumer in answering a Streetsblog reader questionnaire.

In November of 2007, the Expo Construction Authority and Culver City agreed that instead of building a "temporary" station at the terminus of Phase I of the Expo Project, that the Authority would build the permanent aerial station in time for the grand opening of Phase I.  As part of that agreement, Culver City agreed to pay the Authority $7 million to cover some of the construction costs.

Following nearly an hour and fifteen minutes of public testimony, most of which overwhelmingly favored passage of the staff recommendation to complete the Wilshire Bus Only Lanes on all parts of Wilshire Boulevad controlled by the City of Los Angeles, the Metro Board of Directors unanimously backed transit expert Zev Yaroslavsky over their staff and LADOT staff and decided to remove the Comstock/Selby area of Wilshire in Westwood from the project.

Westsiders like to complain that for years their part of the city has been left out when it comes to transit expansion.  Now that Metro is proposing three high-profile transit projects, a rampant strain of NIMBYism is endangering all three in one form or another.