#  Ridley-Thomas: “I Will Not Let My Motion Set One Region … Against Other Regions”

     Details    Mark Ridley-Thomas   ![logo](https://mail.citywatchla.com//templates/ja_teline_v/images/logo.png)         April 22 2011       [ARCHIVE](https://mail.citywatchla.com/archive)   - [  Previous Article **AEG to Seize Control of Los Angeles** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1858:paul-hatfield-v15-1858&catid=16)
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> **![](https://mail.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Apr-2011/above-below-ground.png)WE’VE GOT MAIL -** Thank you for your in-depth and thoughtful coverage of my motion before the Metro board to protect the Park Mesa Heights neighborhood and include Leimert Park as a stop on the Crenshaw/LAX rail line.
>
> Ken Alpern correctly points out (in [CityWatch](http://216.18.22.247/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4799)) that the line “has the potential to create a very large rail transit grid … to serve much of the transit needs of the Mid-City, South Bay and Westside,” that with northward expansion “the ridership could easily top 100,000 riders/day.”
>
> I’d like to assure you, however, that I will not let my motion “set one region of the county (the Mid-City/Crenshaw region) against other regions (the Westside and South Bay),” as you fear.
>
> The entire region would benefit from the reduced travel time of a below-grade train through Park Mesa Heights. That includes passengers on the future Westside subway, which I support and hope as you do that it will be connected to the Crenshaw/LAX line.
>
> I also believe those passengers should have a rail connection to the distinctive cultural destination that is Leimert Park.
>
> While my motion cites Green Line to LAX funds as a possible funding source for an immediate need; I do not see this as a zero-sum equation. I am committed to a rail connection to LAX and am seeking resources to make this happen, including working with Senator Barbara Boxer and Representative John Mica, Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.
>
> Likewise, the Expo Line Measure R funds are also cited in my motion only as a potential source if it makes sense – I am not advocating robbing the Expo line of funds needed for its completion. Transit funding sources are like trains themselves – they move quickly. Furthermore, sometimes a train can be diverted to serve an immediate need, and we can make sure we bring another one along to travel the original course.
>
> To be clear, there are available sources of funds, some examples of which I cited in my motion. While you highlighted only the Measure R sources, I also suggested alternatives such as surplus property sales and possibly reconsidering the Arbor Vitae interchange project.
>
> But these are not the only options – I simply presented them to show I am not calling for an unfunded project. I am confident Metro’s staff, with its depth of expertise, is also capable of finding ways to invest now in the Crenshaw/LAX line. We must do so in order to avoid the much greater –and permanent—cost of an inferior rail line.
>
> As noted in the article, the Crenshaw/LAX line is a regional undertaking and boon to the entire County. You correctly note that I am a consensus builder, and consensus can and should be built around the Crenshaw/LAX line.
>
> *(Mark Ridley-Thomas is LA County Supervisor for the 2nd District. Visit his website [here](http://ridley-thomas.lacounty.gov/).) -cw*
>
>
>
> **CityWatch
> Vol 9 Issue 32
> Pub: Apr 22, 2011**

  - [  Previous Article **AEG to Seize Control of Los Angeles** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1858:paul-hatfield-v15-1858&catid=16)
- [  Next Article **What the Small Group of Noisy Opponents of Mansionization Didn’t Tell You** ](https://mail.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1860:charles-tarlow&catid=16)
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