Beverly Hills could be obstacle in subway extension

The city of Beverly Hills can be an obstacle for the long delayed Westside subway extension. Municipal leaders, school district officials and residents resist a possible route that would tunnel under homes and the city's emergency preparedness center, Beverly Hills High School. Beverly Hills Unified School District recently hired an attorney who would be looking into the project's environmental review. Lisa Korbatov, the school board's vice president said, “We want to work with the experts and do everything we can, but if it comes down to a lawsuit, we won't shy away from it.”

The city and school officials support the Westside extension and favor running the tunnel under Santa Monica Boulevard with a station at Avenue of the Stars. That route will avoid tunneling under Beverly Hills High School. But the transit agency unveiled, the station could be moved to Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars. The shift would require tunneling under homes in the city's only high school. Ken Goldman, president of the South West Beverly Hills Homeowners Assn., said “You know, they changed it on us. Alot of people in Beverly Hills feel they were duped.” Metro officials say “...from a ridership standpoint, the station makes more sense on Constellation. Santa Monica site would be close to a golf course,...the Constellation station would be close to shopping areas,... As Metro board member Zev Yaroslavsky said, “It's the center of the center.”

City leaders and residents of Beverly Hills argue that the Constellation option might threaten homes and the high school because of explosive methane gas, old active oil wells. These problems were encountered during the construction of the Red Line years ago. More recently in Europe and Asia. Once the Westside extension is finished, noise might be a problem and the vibration from the trains could damage buildings and the high school which was built in the 1920s. “I don't know what the reason is for running under the high school” said City Councilwoman Nancy Krasne. “If there is a major disaster, we have 2,200 students there and every bit of our emergency equipment and earthquake supplies.”

“If the station is located on Santa Monica, pedestrian tunnels with moving sidewalks could be installed to move subway riders to and from portals on the Constellation.” city leaders say. Dave Sotero, a Metro spokesman, defend the transit agency saying, “He has not received any noise or vibration complaints from subway operations for at least 15 years. Nor have there been any substantiated claims for property damage. There's lots of experience building in this environment. The oil fields are much deeper than the subway tunnel, which will run about 50 to 70 feet below the surface. We will also use establish practices to ensure safety.” Metro board members approved a detailed study that must be completed before any option is selected. It will weigh the pros and cons of the Constellation and Santa Monica stations as well as tunneling through areas with earthquake faults, methane gas, and active and abandoned oil wells.

Weikel, Dan. "Beverly Hills Could Be Obstacle in Subway Extension." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2010. Web. 13 Feb. 2015. <http://articles.latimes.com/2010/oct/30/local/la-me-subway-20101030>.