Constellation Station On Track With The Facts

(Originally appeared in the Dec 27, 2011 edition of the Century City News)

We found the L.A. Weekly article, “Westside Subway Extension Feud, Did Metro rig a Century City fault study to move the Purple Line” by Ryan Deto misleading in many respects. The subway stop in the Century City area is an important issue for the business community as well as all Angelenos, and warrants reporting that is based on accurate data and facts as opposed to hearsay and innuendo.

First, the proposed station location was not “moved” to Century City. There has been discussion back and forth as to the best alignment for the Westside Subway for decades…Santa Monica Blvd., vs Constellation.  From the 1960’s, the Southern California Rapid Transit District (SCRTD) planned the future of Los Angeles’ subway system and many routes were discussed. The January 1, 1968 minutes of the SCRTD Special Board Meeting state the following from Mr. Frank Lombardi, Executive Officer of the Planning Department of the City of Los Angeles, representing the Los Angeles City Council Ad Hoc Transit Committee to the SCRTD:

“On the Wilshire Corridor, specifically, this Committee has recommended to the Council, which they are now considering, that the alignment is satisfactory as far as it goes, but we think it should go beyond. We feel that the Wilshire Corridor Line should be extended west under Wilshire with stops at Robertson Boulevard, Beverly Drive, and then under Constellation Avenue in Century City, with a stop at Century City, and a return to Wilshire Boulevard. The line should continue west in subway with stops to serve Westwood and terminate at Barrington Avenue. We feel the extension of that Wilshire Corridor to serve these areas is imperative.” (Official documentation available)

Furthermore, in the SCRTD’s Final Report, May 1968, pg. JV-36: Wilshire Corridor – Route Description…
It states:

”Entering Young Street at about Lasky Drive the line proceeds westerly in subway to Moreno Drive where it enters and proceeds under the property of the Beverly Hills High School to a position in Constellation Ave. at Century Park East. The alignment follows Constellation Avenue to the westerly limit of Century City at Century Park West where it turns northerly on a 2000 ft. radius curve through subsurface easement to Thayer Avenue near Kinnard Avenue.” (Official documentation available)

And…1968 Two line drawing civil maps showing alignment under Beverly Hills High school en route to Century City at Constellation. (Official documentation available) These are the facts.

Traffic has choked our streets to a point that the time has finally come to move forward with these plans (that have been on the books for over 40 years). The realization that funding could finally be attained from local Measure R funds and federal “New Starts” funds, Metro (which took over the SCRTD) can finally move forward with making this vision a reality.

As part of Metro’s studies a team of world-class scientists were retained to determine the safest route for the Westside Subway Extension. These experts are leaders in their fields including Dr. Lucy Jones of USGS, former Caltech Provost Dr. Paul Jennings, and USC’s Dr. James Dolan, a leading expert on the Santa Monica Fault. These individuals, and the other experts who participated in these studies, would not undermine their professional reputations “by manipulating facts to isolate the information for a specific purpose: to discredit a Santa Monica station” as stated by Tim Buresh, “an engineer who worked on the Metro Red Line and Blue Line and who opposes the route switch to Constellation Boulevard.” Never mentioned in the article is the fact that Beverly Hills Unified School District has also retained Mr. Buresh and is paying him for advice.

The article states “Rather than serve bustling Santa Monica Boulevard where groups of working-class citizens carry fast food to work, the station would serve sleepy, three-block-long Constellation Boulevard, where investment bankers valet their Porsches.”

According to a report from the Brookings Institute, people take transit for any number of reasons, but one of the most common is to get to work.

From recent surveys that were taken, a station at Constellation and Avenue of the Stars currently encompasses over 11 million square ft. of existing commercial space and currently approximately 28,000 employees within one-quarter mile. This location is closer to the southern portion of Century City’s residential community as well as to FOX studios.  A station at Santa Monica Blvd. and Century Park East encompasses a little over 4 million square ft. of commercial space and approximately 9,800 employees within a one-quarter mile radius. This location is anchored on one side by the L.A. Country Club which produces no ridership.

The Brookings Institute report further states: “Transportation leaders should make access to jobs an explicit priority in their spending and service decisions, especially given the budget pressures they face. Metro leaders should coordinate strategies regarding land use, economic development and housing with transit decisions in order to ensure that transit reached more people and more jobs efficiently.”
Again, these are the facts.

Without question, safety is crucial no matter where you put a subway.  There are schools throughout the country and several schools in Los Angeles that are over subways as well as hundreds of homes and businesses, and it is safe. We have one opportunity to get this right, and when reporting I suggest we stick to the facts of the issues at hand.  Let’s stay on track and work together to find solutions and finally bring this long awaited subway to the Westside.

Submitted by:

Susan Bursk
President & CEO

Century City Chamber of Commerce