L.A. Subway Routing

[WhoozOn1st]

L.A.'s "Subway to the Sea" won't actually get there, at least at first. Based on current funding projections, the Purple Line westward extension would make it to Westwood (UCLA area), or the V.A. campus just beyond. A series of public meetings will be held to consider routing options set forth in the project's draft environmental impact report.

Westside to weigh in on Purple Line

"Despite growing support for the project as one way to alleviate congestion, plenty of disagreement remains. One issue is whether tunneling might reduce property values by undermining houses or causing long-term rumbling. Perhaps the biggest bone of contention that has emerged recently is the routing through Century City.

"The city of Beverly Hills strongly advocates running the line under Santa Monica Boulevard with a station at Avenue of the Stars, as Metro had long envisioned. But under an alternative that the transit agency unveiled a few months ago, the station would be moved a block south to the corner of Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars, in the middle of Century City. The shift would require tunneling under private residences and schools, including Beverly Hills High."

 

[leemell]

L.A.'s "Subway to the Sea" won't actually get there, at least at first. Based on current funding projections, the Purple Line westward extension would make it to Westwood (UCLA area), or the V.A. campus just beyond. A series of public meetings will be held to consider routing options set forth in the project's draft environmental impact report.

Westside to weigh in on Purple Line

"Despite growing support for the project as one way to alleviate congestion, plenty of disagreement remains. One issue is whether tunneling might reduce property values by undermining houses or causing long-term rumbling. Perhaps the biggest bone of contention that has emerged recently is the routing through Century City.

"The city of Beverly Hills strongly advocates running the line under Santa Monica Boulevard with a station at Avenue of the Stars, as Metro had long envisioned. But under an alternative that the transit agency unveiled a few months ago, the station would be moved a block south to the corner of Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars, in the middle of Century City. The shift would require tunneling under private residences and schools, including Beverly Hills High."

Wow, if they tunnel under BH High, won't they run into the oil well on the campus? They might have to shut is down, then how would they pay for the school? hboy: :giggle:

 

[Dan O]

Hope it makes it to Westwood or the VA. Either one would be great. Santa Monica beach would be even better. Haven't ridden the bus up and down Wilshire Blvd since the 80s but did it enough that the subway option would have sounded very good to me back then.

Does the drilling make a lot of rumbling sounds?

Dan

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Does the drilling make a lot of rumbling sounds?

Subway construction always causes a lot more than rumbling, with cut-and-cover more disruptive on the surface than the boring method. I think the "long-term rumbling" mentioned in the story refers to concerns about noise and vibration from passing trains once the line is completed and running.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

A little good news (in addition to the S.F. Giants demolishing the Texas Rangers in the first two games of the World Series) in the morning paper upon (finally) arriving home from the excellent Amtrak Unlimited Gathering IV:

Wilshire route picked for subway

"The rail has been a priority for a succession of mayors dating to Tom Bradley. And planners have envisioned a subway in the Wilshire corridor since 1980, according to experts.

"But early plans for the Wilshire subway literally went up in flames with a 1985 methane explosion in the Fairfax district that led to concerns about tunneling through an oil-field zone with pockets of the explosive petroleum-related gas. Until several years ago, an underground subway was contrary to federal law because of a ban engineered by Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles).

"Another hurdle was a voter-approved initiative that cut off such projects from a key funding source. That effort was led by Westside Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky. But safety studies, entreaties from Villaraigosa and others, and worsening traffic prompted Waxman to agree to a repeal of his ban; and Yaroslavsky, also an MTA board member, voted for the extension Thursday."

Also...

"On another 10-0 vote, the MTA board approved a $1.37-billion regional connector that would run beneath downtown L.A. to unite existing light-rail lines. It would allow rail users to travel across the county without time-consuming transfers."

The absence of a connector has been a major obstacle in the path to a more rationalized light rail network, and will hopefully serve as a greater inducement to traffic-bound commuters to give the rail option another try.

Now about those TAP cards...

 

[WhoozOn1st]

L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez complains - rightly so, in my view - that as current plans stand the Purple Line extension to the Westside won't get near the ocean.

A flaw in 'Subway to the Sea'

"After hearing Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talk for years about the "Subway to the Sea," I want to be on record as having a problem with the fact that, as planned, the train won't get anyone to within three miles of the beach."

"It's actually kind of fitting, given the history of transit planning in Los Angeles. We've got a train to the airport that doesn't go all the way to the airport, so why not a train to the ocean that barely makes it to the marine layer?"

 

[leemell]

L.A. Times columnist Steve Lopez complains - rightly so, in my view - that as current plans stand the Purple Line extension to the Westside won't get near the ocean.

A flaw in 'Subway to the Sea'

"After hearing Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talk for years about the "Subway to the Sea," I want to be on record as having a problem with the fact that, as planned, the train won't get anyone to within three miles of the beach."

"It's actually kind of fitting, given the history of transit planning in Los Angeles. We've got a train to the airport that doesn't go all the way to the airport, so why not a train to the ocean that barely makes it to the marine layer?"

That's because they ran out of money as usual.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

A row over route for Westside subway

"The long-awaited Westside subway extension appears to be getting closer to reality, but the Beverly Hills Unified School District contends that tunneling for the project could squelch its plans to expand and update the city's aging 22-acre high school campus."

"Plans released as part of the MTA's draft impact report indicate that the tunnel under Beverly High would range from about 63 feet to 78 feet deep — too shallow to suit the school district, which intends to build underground parking."

"Beverly Hills High School was constructed primarily during the 1920s and '30s. It says something about the pace of modernization there that the Swim Gym where physical education classes are held is the same facility used for the dance-and-splash scene in the classic 1946 film 'It's a Wonderful Life.'"

 

[leemell]

A row over route for Westside subway

"The long-awaited Westside subway extension appears to be getting closer to reality, but the Beverly Hills Unified School District contends that tunneling for the project could squelch its plans to expand and update the city's aging 22-acre high school campus."

"Plans released as part of the MTA's draft impact report indicate that the tunnel under Beverly High would range from about 63 feet to 78 feet deep — too shallow to suit the school district, which intends to build underground parking."

"Beverly Hills High School was constructed primarily during the 1920s and '30s. It says something about the pace of modernization there that the Swim Gym where physical education classes are held is the same facility used for the dance-and-splash scene in the classic 1946 film 'It's a Wonderful Life.'"

That scene is one of the few that has stuck in my mind for 50 years. I have no great sympathy for the BHHS, besides being one of the wealthiest districts in the country, they have a working oil well on the campus.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

The ongoing saga of L.A.'s Purple Line, the "Subway to the Sea," appears to have given us a new branch of the NIMBY family: NUTS (Not Under The School).

Panel backs MTA subway extension under Beverly Hills High

"A team of engineering and seismic experts announced Wednesday that a controversial proposal to build the Westside subway extension under Beverly Hills High School is safer than a fault-ridden route beneath Santa Monica Boulevard.

"The panel, assembled by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to analyze two possible alignments through Century City, also concluded that tunneling can be done under the campus and nearby homes without endangering or disrupting the community."

____________

"Beverly Hills residents, city leaders and other officials have fought the alignment under the high school, saying it would create a host of construction — and later operational — problems. Among other things, they say the subway will interfere with the use of the high school as the city's emergency preparedness center."

 

[George Harris]

Is the line supposed to be cut and cover or bored tunnel in the vicinity of the high school?

If bored tunnel, they might not know anything was going on unless told about it. Maybe a little vibration, but not much.

They would probably not think so, but I would think that once open the vibration from an underground line would be imperceptible to those in the high school during the normal school day unless it was somewhere above that of a magnitude 3 earthquake.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Is the lline supposed to be cut adn cover or bored tunnel in the vicinity of the high school?

"If approved by the MTA early next year, the proposed route would pass about 70 feet underneath one building at the high school before it curves under Constellation Boulevard, where a station is planned at Avenue of the Stars."

I don't think anybody cuts and covers at that depth, especially with a school building in the route path.

 

[George Harris]

Is the lline supposed to be cut adn cover or bored tunnel in the vicinity of the high school?

"If approved by the MTA early next year, the proposed route would pass about 70 feet underneath one building at the high school before it curves under Constellation Boulevard, where a station is planned at Avenue of the Stars."

I don't think anybody cuts and covers at that depth, especially with a school building in the route path.

Thanks. makes the uproar look completely rediculous.

hboy: Looks like I had better work on my fumble fingered typing.

 

[AlanB]

Is the lline supposed to be cut adn cover or bored tunnel in the vicinity of the high school?

"If approved by the MTA early next year, the proposed route would pass about 70 feet underneath one building at the high school before it curves under Constellation Boulevard, where a station is planned at Avenue of the Stars."

I don't think anybody cuts and covers at that depth, especially with a school building in the route path.

Thanks. makes the uproar look completely rediculous.

hboy: Looks like I had better work on my fumble fingered typing.

Yup, it's going to be a bored tunnel. Frankly the school buses pulling into the parking lot are likely to cause more vibration to the school then the subway running beneath it.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Yup, it's going to be a bored tunnel.

As opposed to an interested, excited, and engaged tunnel, which is not really what you want anyway.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

With one rail line to L.A.'s westside ready to open this weekend (Expo Line stories in another thread), another one, the Purple Line "Subway to the Sea," continues to be mired in routing obstacles. The issue of tunneling under Beverly Hills high school has reared its ugly head once again, with a lawsuit now threatened...

Subway extension runs into roadblock in Beverly Hills

"Brian Goldberg, president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District board, said it has spent more than $2 million on the issue and warned that 'a lawsuit is absolutely on the table' if, despite the hearing, Metro officials proceed without picking another route.

"'All we are asking for is a fair hearing,' Goldberg said. A date for the meeting has not yet been set.

"Metro board member and county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who approves tunneling underneath the high school, said that many of those in Beverly Hills advocating a different route are not basing their arguments on fact.

"'My commitment has been from Day 1 that Metro should make its decision based on science and facts, not based on hysteria and emotion,' Yaroslavsky said earlier this week. 'They're just not telling the truth.'"

Wilshire/Western station is the current western terminus of the Purple Line. UrbanRail.net photo.

​

 

[WhoozOn1st]

A Los Angeles Times editorial knocks NIMBYs (really NUMHSs - Not Under My High School) in Beverly Hills.

Beverly Hills' subway spathttp://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-subway-beverly-hills-mayor-race-20130219,0,862057.story

"Beverly Hills' embarrassing battle against the Westside subway extension, which emerged as a major political issue last year, is becoming one of the key issues in the March 5 city elections. With the lines hardening between those determined to take legal action to stop the construction of a tunnel under the local high school, which they fear will endanger students, and those who see that route as the safest alternative, we urge residents to consider the scientific and engineering reality rather than merely relying on emotion. In other words: Stop gumming up the rails, Beverly Hills, for your own sake and L.A.'s."

 

[Bob Dylan]

Rich NIMBYs tend to have More Clout than Regular Folks when it comes to Influencing City Hall! "And So It Goes" as Leonard Cohen said!

 

[George Harris]

With one rail line to L.A.'s westside ready to open this weekend (Expo Line stories in another thread), another one, the Purple Line "Subway to the Sea," continues to be mired in routing obstacles. The issue of tunneling under Beverly Hills high school has reared its ugly head once again, with a lawsuit now threatened...
Subway extension runs into roadblock in Beverly Hills

"Brian Goldberg, president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District board, said it has spent more than $2 million on the issue and warned that 'a lawsuit is absolutely on the table' if, despite the hearing, Metro officials proceed without picking another route.

$2 million on court action!!! And people wonder why schools in California are broke.

 

[Anderson]

With one rail line to L.A.'s westside ready to open this weekend (Expo Line stories in another thread), another one, the Purple Line "Subway to the Sea," continues to be mired in routing obstacles. The issue of tunneling under Beverly Hills high school has reared its ugly head once again, with a lawsuit now threatened...
Subway extension runs into roadblock in Beverly Hills

"Brian Goldberg, president of the Beverly Hills Unified School District board, said it has spent more than $2 million on the issue and warned that 'a lawsuit is absolutely on the table' if, despite the hearing, Metro officials proceed without picking another route.

$2 million on court action!!! And people wonder why schools in California are broke.

You know, I know that area probably has well-funded schools, but...dear Lord, if a district was short on funds, did this (and especially if the suit was kicked as lacking merit) I'd like to see them chewed out for misusing public funds.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

While Beverly Hills public schools are not hurting for funds, $2 million (as of last April) to oppose this subway route is pretty misguided.

Here are a couple of letters in response to the recent L.A. Times editorial...

Letters: Tunnel vision in Beverly Hills

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/letters/la-le-0221-thursday-beverly-hills-subway-20130221,0,7634079.story

"The opposition to tunneling beneath Beverly Hills High School is small but vocal; it has been augmented by misleading and inflammatory articles in the Beverly Hills Courier, whose publisher doesn't even live in or adjacent to Beverly Hills."

One of the letters mentions Measure R, which was a successful ballot initiative to raise sales taxes specifically for transit purposes.