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ChineseThe moral case for Expo Line
[tags]expo rail, mta, metro, los angeles, cheviot hills[/tags]
Expo Line right of way in Cheviot Hills
Credit: Light Rail for Cheviot
“Do you think the people who live in Cheviot Hills are going to take this bloody train? “No, they are going to get in their cars. The people who are going to use this are the people who work in the hotels in Santa Monica, and they are going to come from the Hispanic areas nearer downtown. Now they take the bus.”
This is an actual quote from former Cheviot Hills Homeowners Association President Benjamin Cate, said in a Los Angeles Times article and mirrored on the Bottleneck Blog. Not that it matters who he is or was, since the statement would be reprehensible coming from anyone.
The practical case for keeping the Metro Expo Line along the quarter-mile right-of-way has been made well, in public opinion and at the scoping meetings. But, as evidenced by Cate’s racist remarks, the Expo Line along the right of way is now a civil rights issue. A matter of principle.
Cate has been a rabid opponent of light rail in his neighborhood, and we now know his angst is that Hispanics are not sufficiently pushed out of the neighborhood. The fact that he was elected president of the homeowners association implies that a number of residents share that sentiment. Fortunately, what was once a silent minority (i.e., Light Rail for Cheviot) has made its voice heard, so we shouldn’t tar the entire neighborhood with the same brush.
But with Cate’s blockbusting blockbuster statement, the Expo battle now goes beyond growth versus NIMBYism and any further action now is inextricably linked with race and class tensions. Cate’s comment makes race and class fair play.
For certain Cheviot Hills homeowners to overvalue their neighborhood’s importance to extort scarce public funds for an expensive, inconvenient and obviously unnecessary deviation, that’s pigheaded and petulant. To claim their position is with the overall region’s best heart in mind, that’s abusive. To now know that a segment, in all likelihood well-off and white, demands a government agency to acquiesce to keeping out poor dark-skinned people from just breaking the plane of the neighborhood boundaries, that’s ugly and unconscionable. Most importantly, no one should allow an ugly legacy to stand.
Comments should be directed by April 2 to:
Mr. Joel Sandberg
Project Manager, Exposition Corridor Transit Project Phase 2
707 Wilshire Blvd., 34th floor
Los Angeles, CA 90017
jsandberg@exporail.net
Discussion
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Please keep discussions civil: exercise Troll Controll.
Well, it would be easier for the Latinos who do their[chevies] housework to get there on time.
I just can’t believe it has gotten to this point. I was kind of hoping that it wasn’t going to be a racial issue, but in the end, it always is. And here I thought we were going forward in our thinking as a city.
I can’t wait when the Expo line goes through there. I’ll be wearing a smile on my face the entire time.
Sad that this becomes the focus. It’s kinda like all transit advocacy being described as just like the BRU.
What’s the latest price guesstimate? Darrell has been real quiet abut that since the last go-round.
Phase 1 is estimated at $640 million. Phase 2 has not yet begun design.
Gee, there is no estimate for Phase 2. Why is that? It is simple. The project is under environmental scoping. When the draft EIR/EIS becomes available late this year, there will be recommended elements that drive the costs.
Perhaps, we’ll see $250 million for necessary grade separation along Venice. Perhaps we’ll see a trench at Overland / Westwood Blvd., that will cost $100 million.
With all these variables there is no stated cost, because there are way too many variables.
I’ll throw out a figure of $1 billion for Expo Phase 2.
Another racist comment by another out of touch and miserable individual who somehow can’t seem to grasp just what city he lives in. What more can I say? Ijjit!
Every idiot throws out the race card when they don’t like what someone has to say. This isn’t racism, it’s classism. I wholeheartedly agree with him, too. I won’t even go to the beach in Long Beach anymore because the lower classes litter, and are rude. Who wants to deal with that? The rich can’t help it that the poor don’t have any self-control or cleanliness.
Here’s a thought:
Let the NIMBYs force the Expo Line onto Venice, but have them pay the difference. Perhaps by selling the right-of-way to oil refineries, or something?
Bob,
The litter in Long Beach is produced by the Hollywood high society as much as from the “lower class” people of Long Beach. The LA River takes every cigarette butt from the San Fernando Valley and deposits it right at my doorstep. My dirty beach is not caused by the poor alone.
I must agree with rob dawg on this to a certain extent. I want nothing to do with a cause to build the expo line through cheviot hills just to spite some homeowners’ racist remarks. Lets not get all BRU on this subject and begin the annoying race debate, but instead just stick to the fact that building along the right of way through cheviot hills is the best and most financially feasible solution.
Comments like those of Cate should make residents of Cheviot Hills ashamed of themselves. They aren’t the only west side community to have concerns about the Expo Line (in particular Culver City has had some concerns about existing businesses being displaced, which seem more legit than those in Cheviot Hills) but they seem to be the only community who have decided to disrupt the process as to hold the rest of the city hostage. The Expo right of way that goes through Cheviot Hills is the most feasible, simplest, and best option in building that line. And unless Cheviot Hills doesn’t have a population of teenagers (possible) or a population of elderly people who don’t drive(which it certainly does), Cheviot Hills residents will be using the Expo Line to go places.
Not only should the line be built through Cheviot Hills, but if there was any justice Cate’s home would be taken through eminent domain to build the station for Cheviot.
Every idiot throws out the race card when they don’t like what someone has to say.
So I’m the idiot because I took a prominent former homeowners’ association to task because he has a problem with poor Latinos being an aesthetic blight on his community.
Cate’s problem is Latinos because they are Latinos. That cannot be separated or downplayed from his comments.
This isn’t racism, it’s classism.
Which, I suppose, can be used against white people, and therefore less worse.
I wholeheartedly agree with him, too. I won’t even go to the beach in Long Beach anymore because the lower classes litter, and are rude.
You agree with him that Latinos, who are passing through a quarter-mile stretch of train, just breaking the plane of the neighborhood, merely existing, need to be kept hidden to not offend affluent white sensibilites.
And, if you think the lower classes are ill-tempered and rude, let me turn it around and say I see the same, if not worse, behavior in the Westside. Look at how abusive customers are to waiters, baristas and other service industry employees over the most minor of issues. That reveals a lot more about character.
Who wants to deal with that? The rich can’t help it that the poor don’t have any self-control or cleanliness.
Bob, very courageous and principled of you to enlighten us with your views on a comment board.
Please, though, Cate needs all the support he can get. Surely, if you have the mettle to post to a comment board, you would unhesitatingly say the same by including your full name and address and making it a part of the public record. The information is in the original post.
If it’s too much of a problem for you, and you wish to continue to be a valued member of this blog, I’d more than happily be willing to share your IP address in this forum.
Chris,
The $640m price tag is what? 3 years old on 4yo data? The price of concrete ties has quadrupled since then. If we are to follow Tyke’s example and discuss the merits of the best and/or most cost effective implementation then the real costs should be part of the discussion.