Wilshire Subway One Step Closer to Reality

Last Thursday, the Board of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) voted to spend $9.8 million to study the feasibility of 21 projects aimed at improving mobility in our congested metropolis. The move was prompted by Governor Schwarzenegger's proposed $20 billion bond issue for infrastructure improvements; if California voters approve that ballot measure in November, Metro can expect to reap $1 billion in funding for transit projects.

Fortunately, one of the 21 projects to be studied is the 14-mile extension of the existing Red Line west along Wilshire Boulevard from Western Avenue to Santa Monica. The subway line, expected to cost over $300 million per mile, has been pushed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa as a means to relieve congestion in the traffic-choked Westside and maintain the reputation of Los Angeles as a "world class" city. After decades of debate over the relevance of public transit in car-crazy Southern California, transportation planners and political leaders are now almost unanimous in their support for a subway along the Wilshire corridor.

While certain civic leaders and the Los Angeles Times have advocated that Metro focus on a short extension to Fairfax Avenue before moving the subway further west, the Metro Board was wise to study a "first phase" that would run to Century City. While an extension from Western to Fairfax would be a welcome addition, finally fulfilling the promises made by the taxpayer-approved Proposition A in 1980, a Red Line expansion to the activity hubs of Beverly Hills' "Golden Triangle" and Century City would make the line far more useful.

Thursday's vote was a major victory for Mayor Villaraigosa and other subway proponents, as the long-desired project had been considered impossible for almost two decades. As recently as a year ago, powerful U.S. Representative Henry Waxman opposed the subway (obstensively) due to concerns over methane gas and was responsible for a ban on Federal funding for any tunneling under Wilshire in the Miracle Mile district. After commissioning a study that showed the Red Line extension could be built safely, the Mayor convinced Rep. Waxman to work to remove the Federal roadblock, finally making the subway extension a possibility again.

The Red Line extension is far from a "done deal," however. While the subway would be impossible without Federal funding, local sales tax money is no longer available. In response to the follies that wracked Metro as it built the first leg of the Red Line from Downtown to the San Fernando Valley (including an infamous sinkhole on Hollywood Boulevard), County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky won voter approval for Proposition C in 1998, prohibiting the use of local funds for subway construction. While Supervisor Yaroslavsky, who represents the Westside, now thinks the Wilshire subway is a good idea, he is still adamant that sales tax money shouldn't be used to build it.

While Mayor Villaraigosa is confident that the Red Line can be built with a mix of Federal funds and a large share of Governor Schwarzenegger's bond measure, Metro is considering many other transportation projects that will compete for those precious funds. The other 20 studies authorized by Thursday's vote will evaluate dedicated bus lanes along Wilshire from Beverly Hills to Fairfax Avenue, construction of the "Downtown Connector," another subway route that will connect the existing Blue Line to the proposed Gold Line extension by way of Little Tokyo, and the boring of two tunnels under South Pasadena to complete the "missing link" in Interstate 710. Most, if not all of the projects on Metro's "wish list" will prove to be financially feasible and politically prudent; it is unclear if the Red Line extension will end up being a priority.

I admit that I am an unabased supporter of the Wilshire subway and have used P.U. to advocate its construction. I encourage you to read my previous posts on the subject:

Dreaming of a Subway to the Sea (8/24/2005)

Wilshire Subway on Track (10/26/2005)

Red Line Extension Clears Hurdle (10/30/2005)

Wilshire Subway: Bold Vision or Pipe Dream? (2/17/2006)