The MTA Expo Light Rail - Rancho Park's Dividing Line

[Orli Belman]

Rancho Park is divided. Literally.

Train tracks cut through the neighborhood along Exposition Blvd. These tracks used to be part of the Red Car trolley line. And now this MTA-owned land is once again slated to have trains as part of Phase Two of the MTA's new Expo Line. Some residents are excited about the prospect of living close to public transportation, seeing benefits and exciting opportunites. Others see cause for alarm, citing concerns about traffic, safety and the environment. 

 

Construction has yet to begin but there is no shortage of activity among the people who live here. The Los Angeles Times today ran an op-ed written by Karen Leonard and Sarah Hays, co-chairs of Light Rail for Cheviot Hills, a neighborhood group that favors having the line. Tomorrow, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge will hear a lawsuit brought by Neighbors for Smartrail, a coalition of Rancho Park and Cheviot Hills residents who oppose the train running at-grade through the neighborhood.

 

I've included a few other links to some recent press(our local line even made the New York Times) and posted a YouTube video

that shows where the train will travel.

 

Stay tuned to this one...It promises to be quite a ride.