March 12, 2009

BREAKING GROUND — Expo Authority Board Members celebrate the groundbreaking of the Expo Park/USC station and congratulate workers who have successfully completed over 1 million hours of work on the Expo Line without injury. (From left) Culver City Mayor Scott Malsin; Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky; Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas; Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa; Councilwoman Jan Perry; and Councilman Bernard Parks.

March 12, 2009

BY CHICO C. NORWOOD

STAFF WRITER

City officials were on hand March 6 for the official groundbreaking ceremonies for the Expo Park/USC Station of the Expo Rail Light Rail Project.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa joined City Council Members Jan Perry and Bernard Parks and Los Angeles County Supervisors Mark Ridley-Thomas and Zev Yaroslavsky for the groundbreaking, which included pouring concrete for the station platform, at Trousdale Parkway and Exposition Boulevard.

After delaying for more than four months, the Public Utilities Commission voted 4-1 in late February for an alternate proposal by Commissioner Rachelle Chong regarding proposed Expo Rail crossings near Foshay Learning Center on Harvard Boulevard, and Farmdale Avenue near Dorsey High School.

Chong’s alternate proposal called for no improvements at Foshay, where a pedestrian tunnel already exists, but did mandate that a pedestrian bridge or flyway be constructed at Farmdale near Dorsey.

The PUC has requested that the Expo Authority come up with a “safety improvement plan” for the pedestrian tunnel at Foshay within 90 days, according Expo Chief Operating Officer Samantha Bricker.  

“The plan can include anything from putting cameras in the tunnel, additional lighting,” Bricker said. “We’re working closely with DOT (Department of Transportation), who actually owns the tunnel, on those elements right now.”

An additional safety measure being put into place, Bricker added, is the construction of a 12-foot high fence near Foshay to prevent students from getting onto the tracks.

The authority is also looking into the possible installation of a gate within the fence with limited access, which would enable school security to cross the tracks in the case of emergencies or for security reasons.

Bricker also noted that, in addition to coming up with their own safety plan, the Expo Authority is working closely with Councilman Bernard Parks on an application that he submitted that included improving circulation and traffic flow in the area.

Bricker said construction in the area should start shortly; however, construction at the Farmdale site will be delayed until the proposed pedestrian bridge has been environmentally cleared. The PUC has decided to be the lead agency for the environmental review, she said.

Damien Goodman, chair of United Community Associations, an all-volunteer South L.A. nonprofit, called the PUC’s decision disappointing

“The commission has repeatedly refused to consider the safety of the Foshay community,” he said. “We are pleased, though, that the commission has rejected their unsafe holding pen at Farmdale and forcing MTA to consider the other three options.”

Goodman noted that the community still has issues with street closures.

The 8.6-mile line (Expo Line) will be along Exposition Boulevard, and is scheduled to open in summer 2010. The project is currently divided into two phases — Phase One, currently under construction, will go from downtown Los Angeles to Culver City while Phase Two, which has yet to be designed or funded, will be the completion of the portion that will run from Culver City to the beach.