$54 Million More for Culver City, $0 for South LA
Last month the MTA Board approved an additional $54 million for an overpass in Culver City from the same source of money we’ve been requesting they use to build the Expo Line underground in our South LA community and next to our schools and churches. The $54 million is part of an influx of $222 million extra dollars for the Expo Line, with not a single dollar going for putting the Expo Line underground through South LA. This is simply the latest act proving that this is not an issue about MTA’s access to money, it’s about their failure to value South LA lives and communities.
The MTA is now spending more money for Expo Line Phase 1 in the ONE MILE west of La Cienega than they are IN THE ENTIRE 4 MILES IN SOUTH LA! If the MTA spent the same amount per mile in South LA as they are in the 1-mile from La Cienega to La Brea Robertson [typo] they could put the Expo Line in a tunnel or trench, as we’ve been requesting, and still would have enough left over to paint every house on Exposition Blvd.
But instead they’re building Expo Line Phase 1 at mostly street-level in South LA, but totally grade separated west of La Cienega. MTA is building it in a way that forces thousands of our South LA children to walk across the tracks, with 225-ton trains coming 35-55 mph 240 times a day, while not one child will have to cross the tracks west of La Cienega. We in South LA will have 9 of our streets closed, our community divided, our traffic worsened, and our emergency services delayed, while none of that will occur west of La Cienega. We in South LA will hear 1000 train horns and crossing gate bells every day, 22 hours a day in the middle of our residential areas and next to our schools, while no train horn or crossing gate bell will ever be heard west of La Cienega.
Call it what it is: Plain-old fashioned ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM!
We’ve found attorneys (very good attorneys by the way) to take up our cause in the courts, but the legal part is only half of it. The politicians who made the decision to invest west of La Cienega and not in South LA need to hear from YOU. Our day in court, must be met with our participation in the streets!
Important Community Forums: 5/22 & 5/29
Please come to the upcoming community forums to hear about these and other very important Expo Line community updates.
The first forum is this Thursday, May 22nd at 6:30 – 8:30 pm at Dorsey HS Auditorium (3537 Farmdale Ave).
The second forum is next Thursday, May 29th at Foshay Learning Center Auditorium at 6:30 PM (Western & Exposition).
We must stand united and show the decisionmakers that we take this issue seriously.
Now Accepting Donations
Last month our collaborative group established an all-volunteer nonprofit, United Community Associations, to begin collecting donations so we can host more community forums and distribute more flyers to keep the community informed on this important issue. We need your help to keep this movement growing. Whether you can give $5, $50 or $500, every penny of your tax-deductible donation is greatly appreciated and will go to good use. Checks can be emailed to P.O. Box 781267, Los Angeles, CA 90016 or you can make a secure online donation by clicking the donate button to the left.
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