WILSHIRE SUBWAY PLAN RESURFACING.Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer Looking to overcome more than 20 years of objections, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. announced Friday that a independent panel of experts will meet Oct. 24 to review the feasibility of building a subway under Wilshire Boulevard Wilshire Boulevard is one of the principal east-west arterial roads in Los Angeles, California, United States. It was named for H. Gaylord Wilshire (1861-1927), an Ohio native who made and lost fortunes in real estate, farming, and gold mining. . Plans to extend a leg of the Red Line subway under Wilshire ended abruptly in March 1985, after a methane gas explosion erupted under a Ross Dress-for-Less store in the Fairfax district. Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, subsequently sponsored legislation that prohibits tunneling under Wilshire Boulevard. Earlier this year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority voted to reconsider subway bans in Los Angeles and agreed to pay the costs of travel and lodging for the consultants. Waxman, who endorsed Villaraigosa's election, has been working with the mayor to create the panel. ``Wilshire Boulevard is the densest corridor and most heavily traveled bus route in Los Angeles,'' Villaraigosa said in a statement. ``It also is the most logical choice of mass transit investments. This panel will help to determine if subway tunneling is a safe alternative.'' Waxman said he was supporting the study, something he had asked for years ago. ``We discussed creating an independent review in the 1990s, but 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. decided not to go forward with one at that time,'' Waxman said. ``I am pleased we will have an independent study now and look forward to reviewing the panel's work.'' The mayor said he also has been working with Councilman Tom LaBonge, an MTA board member who has spearheaded the idea of reviving subway construction. ``I strongly support the work of this peer review panel as they evaluate the feasibility of tunneling so we can move forward with our transportation planning,'' said LaBonge, who represents the Westside. Villaraigosa, who also chairs the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, has called for a broad expansion of transit projects, including a subway under Wilshire Boulevard from downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area. The sprawling, multi-centered megacity is such that its downtown core is often considered just another district like Hollywood or to the Pacific Ocean. The panel includes experts in tunneling, engineering, transit construction, rail operations and underground safety. It includes three members of the American Public Transportation Association The American Public Transportation Association is a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that serves as an advocate for the advancement of public transportation programs and initiatives in the United States since the organization's founding in 1882. and two from the National Academy of Sciences, who were selected by Waxman. The three APTA APTA American Physical Therapy Association. members are Henry M. Nutbrown of Pennsylvania, Raymond Sandiford of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of and Jeffrey Hewitt of Virginia. The two other experts are Fred Kissel This article is about a dessert. For the car company, see Kissel Motor Car Company. Kissel (Kisiel in Polish, kiisseli in Finnish) is a popular dessert in Eastern and Northern Europe. , a mine safety consultant, and John Christian, a consulting engineer. Villaraigosa said the panel will meet in Los Angeles for three days beginning Oct. 24 and submit its report by November. Rick Orlov, (213) 978-0390 rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com |
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