Mayor's Sales Tax Increase For Transportation: Racism & The Reverse Robin Hood
Mayor Villaraigosa and the MTA have given South LA No Reason to Support a ½-cent Sales Tax Increase for Rail Projects
Discussion of a possible ½-cent sales tax increase for transportation that would be forced upon all residents of Los Angeles County has been dominated by Westsiders and the Valleys, with those regions demanding something in return for their support. What about the South Los Angeles region, which is among the country's most economically challenged and whose residents and businesses the tax hike would impose the greatest hardship?
A growing South Los Angeles coalition of neighborhood councils and community organizations, has come together to demand equal investment and equal treatment from the MTA regarding Phase 1 of the Expo Light Rail Line from Downtown LA to Culver City. En route to Culver City the MTA's train is planned to cut through South LA residential community across the major intersections of Vermont, Normandie, Western and Crenshaw at street-level.
In addition to the adverse traffic impacts of the street-running design, the lack of even basic crossing gates and grade separation (overpasses and underpasses) at almost all of the intersections, ensures that South LA will endure countless accidents and deaths from the Expo Line, as evident by the MTA's own Blue Line. The Blue Line similarily slices through the black and brown communities of South LA, Watts, Willowbrook and Compton en route to Long Beach from Downtown LA, and is America's deadliest light rail line.
The close proximity of over a dozen schools and parks, including several that are within a stones throw of the Expo Line, is especially worrisome, and has prompted opposition to all or portions of the street-level design from UTLA, LAUSD Parent Collaborative, and the LAUSD Board of Education.
In the early planning stages of the Expo Line, all residents, teachers and parents expressed safety and environmental impact concerns - in South LA and in Culver City. The Culver City Council responded by passing a motion prohibiting any street-level crossings in their city and threatening to tie the project up in court if the MTA tried to push through their original design that called for all street-level crossings in their city.
MTA eventually complied with Culver City's demand, adding very costly overpasses and realigning National Blvd so the Expo Line would not cross any street at street-level, thereby imposing no safety risk, no traffic impact and eliminating other adverse impacts. These upgrades came at a price, which is best illustrated by the vast discrepancy in the amount of tax dollars MTA is spending for the one mile of the Expo Line from La Cienega to the Robertson terminus in Culver City ($185 million) vs. the 4.5 miles in South LA (just $140 million).
The MTA's failure to apply the same standards across all residential communities from Downtown LA to Culver City has resulted in an 8.5-mile light rail line that places all of the safety hazards and adverse environmental impacts on low-income and/or minority communities, and none on the majority Caucasian middle to upper class community west of La Cienega. The legal term for this is environmental racism.
We in South LA paid our taxes, but are not receiving the same safety enhancements, traffic mitigation or amount per mile as the community west of La Cienega. In fact, the City of Los Angeles is contributing $35 million to the construction of the line, compared to just $4 million from the City of Culver City.
South LA is being forced to assume a much higher risk, and be imposed a much greater burden for a project that's primary purpose is to benefit the areas to our east and west. That's not right.
Children in South LA shouldn't be forced to walk across Expo Line tracks, if they won't be in Culver City.
Residential communities, traffic and emergency response times shouldn't be be disrupted in South LA, if they they won't be in Culver City.
The discrepancies on the Expo Line need to fixed, and this institutional discrimination cannot be tolerated. If the MTA and Mayor Villaraigosa go back and find the additional money for grade separations for South LA like they did for Culver City, or simply scale back the Expo Line and only build the portions they can afford to build correctly, we're prepared to support his sales tax measure.
But increasing the tax burden on the taxpayers of South LA, who are being hit the hardest by the economic downturn, for rail projects that primarily benefit other areas, like a subway under Hancock Park, Beverly Hills and Century City, or threaten our children's lives and harm our community, like the street-level design of the Expo Line is simply pouring salt on our wounds and furthering MTA's discriminatory tactics.
Damien Goodmon is the Coordinator of the Citizens' Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line, a collaboration of 18 South LA community groups with the support of multiple neighborhood councils, Southern Christian Leadership Conference-Los Angeles, United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD Parent Collaborative.
Discussion of a possible ½-cent sales tax increase for transportation that would be forced upon all residents of Los Angeles County has been dominated by Westsiders and the Valleys, with those regions demanding something in return for their support. What about the South Los Angeles region, which is among the country's most economically challenged and whose residents and businesses the tax hike would impose the greatest hardship?
A growing South Los Angeles coalition of neighborhood councils and community organizations, has come together to demand equal investment and equal treatment from the MTA regarding Phase 1 of the Expo Light Rail Line from Downtown LA to Culver City. En route to Culver City the MTA's train is planned to cut through South LA residential community across the major intersections of Vermont, Normandie, Western and Crenshaw at street-level.
In addition to the adverse traffic impacts of the street-running design, the lack of even basic crossing gates and grade separation (overpasses and underpasses) at almost all of the intersections, ensures that South LA will endure countless accidents and deaths from the Expo Line, as evident by the MTA's own Blue Line. The Blue Line similarily slices through the black and brown communities of South LA, Watts, Willowbrook and Compton en route to Long Beach from Downtown LA, and is America's deadliest light rail line.
The close proximity of over a dozen schools and parks, including several that are within a stones throw of the Expo Line, is especially worrisome, and has prompted opposition to all or portions of the street-level design from UTLA, LAUSD Parent Collaborative, and the LAUSD Board of Education.
In the early planning stages of the Expo Line, all residents, teachers and parents expressed safety and environmental impact concerns - in South LA and in Culver City. The Culver City Council responded by passing a motion prohibiting any street-level crossings in their city and threatening to tie the project up in court if the MTA tried to push through their original design that called for all street-level crossings in their city.
MTA eventually complied with Culver City's demand, adding very costly overpasses and realigning National Blvd so the Expo Line would not cross any street at street-level, thereby imposing no safety risk, no traffic impact and eliminating other adverse impacts. These upgrades came at a price, which is best illustrated by the vast discrepancy in the amount of tax dollars MTA is spending for the one mile of the Expo Line from La Cienega to the Robertson terminus in Culver City ($185 million) vs. the 4.5 miles in South LA (just $140 million).
The MTA's failure to apply the same standards across all residential communities from Downtown LA to Culver City has resulted in an 8.5-mile light rail line that places all of the safety hazards and adverse environmental impacts on low-income and/or minority communities, and none on the majority Caucasian middle to upper class community west of La Cienega. The legal term for this is environmental racism.
We in South LA paid our taxes, but are not receiving the same safety enhancements, traffic mitigation or amount per mile as the community west of La Cienega. In fact, the City of Los Angeles is contributing $35 million to the construction of the line, compared to just $4 million from the City of Culver City.
South LA is being forced to assume a much higher risk, and be imposed a much greater burden for a project that's primary purpose is to benefit the areas to our east and west. That's not right.
Children in South LA shouldn't be forced to walk across Expo Line tracks, if they won't be in Culver City.
Residential communities, traffic and emergency response times shouldn't be be disrupted in South LA, if they they won't be in Culver City.
The discrepancies on the Expo Line need to fixed, and this institutional discrimination cannot be tolerated. If the MTA and Mayor Villaraigosa go back and find the additional money for grade separations for South LA like they did for Culver City, or simply scale back the Expo Line and only build the portions they can afford to build correctly, we're prepared to support his sales tax measure.
But increasing the tax burden on the taxpayers of South LA, who are being hit the hardest by the economic downturn, for rail projects that primarily benefit other areas, like a subway under Hancock Park, Beverly Hills and Century City, or threaten our children's lives and harm our community, like the street-level design of the Expo Line is simply pouring salt on our wounds and furthering MTA's discriminatory tactics.
Damien Goodmon is the Coordinator of the Citizens' Campaign to Fix the Expo Rail Line, a collaboration of 18 South LA community groups with the support of multiple neighborhood councils, Southern Christian Leadership Conference-Los Angeles, United Teachers Los Angeles and LAUSD Parent Collaborative.
Labels: mayor antonio villaraigosa, MTA, transit
Posted by Michael Higby @ 6/29/2008 08:46:00 PM
5 Comments:
The Gold line runs at grade in East LA crossing right next to several schools, is that included in your discrimination rant against the MTA and Expo Board? South LA will have 2 rail lines that connect it to the rest of Los Angeles, if the Expo line is allowed to be built. It would be a shame if this vital link gets derailed by a group of anti-rail unions. For Expo to be completed, the half cent sales tax will be needed.
Some facts:
Tracks mostly at ground level with occasional bridges or underpasses where necessary is the safe standard of modern light rail in many cities including Portland, San Francisco, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, and Dallas, and Los Angeles’ own most-recent Pasadena and Eastside Gold Lines.
Trains run at 35 mph with traffic signals in boulevard medians or 55 mph on private fenced right-of-way with crossing gates.
Hardly discrimination, the bridge over Washington-National in Culver City is necessary to ramp up to the bridge over Venice Blvd. traffic. Not to mention: (1) there are more grade separations in Los Angeles’ minority communities than in Culver City, and (2) Culver City is also majority-minority near the Expo Line.
What a bunch of fools the fix Expo people are! freaking fools. If the PUC rules in thier case or they win in court. The project is finished and they will never get thier freaking trench because they will fought against the Tax increase that would fund the freaking trench! These people are morons and deserve nothing. Expo -line if defeated should be only built to Vermont and turned North to meet Washington Blvd. and from there go west to Santa Monica. Nothing should ever be built for the people of the Expo -line quarter! Never! If fix expo wins thier case i pledge the rest of my life to defeat everything for the communities that defeated the Expo-line. This is not a racial issue but a issue to defeat abundant moronism! And Damien Goodman went to college? Probably Poland!
The expenditure plan for the new sales tax would accelerate the Crenshaw Line by 10-years over current plans, from 2026 to 2016.
have you ever been outside of los angeles? have you ever witnessed trams and trolleys running at street grade, LIKE THEY DO EVERYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD? there are trams and trolleys running at grade in the most beautiful sections in europe and in practically every big city in the united states.
been to portland? denver? seattle? houston? new orleans? have you ever ventured south to san diego?
if anyone is racist, it's you - in your desperate and continued attempt to rally folks against the quality public transportation they need.
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