ORANGE LINE WORK QUICKLY RESUMES, PENDING LAWSUIT.Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff WriterAfter a 23-day shutdown, construction of the Orange Line busway across the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. resumed Thursday, but a residents group fighting the $330 million project vowed to go to court as early as today to try to get it stopped again. Under orders from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. , crews were back on the job a day after an appellate court A court having jurisdiction to review decisions of a trial-level or other lower court. An unsuccessful party in a lawsuit must file an appeal with an appellate court in order to have the decision reviewed. clarified that a ruling that temporarily halted construction had actually been lifted last week. But the MTA's plans to ramp up Ramp Up To increase a company's operations in anticipation of increased demand. Notes: A company might 'ramp up' operations if they just signed a contract creating substantially more demand for their product. See also: Demand, Economies of Scale construction - with work concentrated on torn-up intersections - could be cut short by Citizens Organized for Smart Transit. The busway opponent won the court-ordered shutdown as part of a ruling requiring the MTA (1) (Message Transfer Agent or Mail Transfer Agent) The store and forward part of a messaging system. See messaging system. (2) See M Technology Association. 1. (messaging) MTA - Message Transfer Agent. to study Rapid buses as an alternative to the Orange Line and plans today to seek a court order to halt the project again. ``It's bad enough they've gone this far, but to go further is worse,'' said COST attorney John A. Henning. ``Our view is you can't build a busway while you're deciding whether to build a busway. To be building the busway while that's going on is going to corrupt that decision.'' COST wants construction halted while the MTA conducts the required study on Rapid buses - a process that could take nine months. Even if that study finds that Rapid buses would be better, the MTA could opt to proceed with the busway. Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky Zev Yaroslavsky (born December 21, 1948) is a Los Angeles County politician. He served on the Los Angeles City Council from 1975 until 1994, when he was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. He was preceded in both offices by Edmund D. Edelman. , who has fought for the $330 million busway that is the Valley's main mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a project, urged COST to halt its legal challenges. ``The disruption has been inconvenient for some and an economic disaster for others,'' said Yaroslavsky, who also is a county supervisor. ``It needs to stop. Nobody wins by this and a lot of people get seriously hurt.'' But the MTA plans to mount its own legal challenge today, asking the California Supreme Court to overturn the appellate court's order to conduct the environmental study. The MTA estimates it has lost $1.5 million during the 23-day shutdown, keeping crews on standby and paying overhead costs overhead costs see fixed costs. , and said that figure could skyrocket to $100 million if it has to halt construction for nine months while the full study is being done. Already, the busway's planned August 2005 opening is in doubt, officials said. In addition to the MTA's losses, businesses along the 14-mile route have complained of economic hardship because of the loss of street and parking access for their customers. During the MTA board meeting Thursday, Yaroslavksy asked staffers to consider a plan for compensating businesses hurt by construction. The board also heard a separate report about a pilot busway project running along a mile-long stretch of Wilshire Boulevard in West Los Angeles
Lisa Mascaro, (818) 713-3761 lisa.mascaro(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Work on the Orange Line busway resumes along Owensmouth Avenue between Erwin and Oxnard streets Thursday. Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer |
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