Candice Hannani, Print News Editor
At a press conference on Monday, Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials stated their final decision regarding the Westside Subway Extension project. MTA supported the route through Constellation Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars, which would involve the subway tunneling under Beverly.
MTA used potential earthquake dangers and ridership statistics to support its approval of the route through Constellation Boulevard as opposed to the alternative route through Santa Monica Boulevard and Century Park East. However, the Beverly Hills Unified School District continues to argue against tunneling against Beverly, claiming that Metro does not care for the safety of the students.
“Metro’s continued reliance on flawed studies and information to justify a more expensive station that benefits politically-connected developers at the expense of everyone else, including future generations of public schoolchildren, is unacceptable and will not go unchallenged,” district attorney Kevin Brogan said.
Moreover, according to Brogan, experts hired by BHUSD to conduct seismic testing around Beverly have found faults with Metro’s claims about the approved subway route.
Along with Metro, the Century City Chamber of Commerce backs the subway route through Constellation Avenue.
If the subway route through Constellation Avenue is confirmed, MTA plans to start construction in fall 2013. Under their current plan, the subway extension would be finished by 2036, but if a national transportation bill that would give more funding for the subway is passed, the project would be finished by 2022.