Metro\u2019s board on Thursday unanimously approved a new route for a Los Angeles rail line that would extend service from South L.A. into West Hollywood, a pivotal mass transit milestone for L.A. that was struck after last-minute negotiations between Mayor Karen Bass and local leaders.<\/p>\n
The K Line northern extension<\/a> underground light rail project would link up with four major rail lines and increase the number of K Line riders up to 100,000 a day. Transit experts say it could finally create a vigorous mass transit culture <\/a>in the sprawled region and make L.A. a national role model for modern U.S. cities that want to rebuild rail systems that can provide an alternative to the car.<\/p>\n But the project has faced strong opposition from a small but vocal group of Mid-City homeowners \u2014 many in historic, affluent Black neighborhoods like Lafayette Square \u2014 who fear tunneling construction could create disruption, safety problems and lower property values. In the days before Metro\u2019s pivotal board vote, speculation swirled among public transit advocates that Bass, a key member of the board who appoints three other members, might seek to delay approval for the project based on community concerns.<\/p>\n However, in the 24 hours before Thursday\u2019s meeting, Bass met several times behind the scenes with West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman, a major backer of the K Line extension, to come up with an amended motion<\/a> that allows West Hollywood and L.A. County to work on securing funding that will allow the project to accelerate while also calling for additional study of the Mid-City section and community engagement. The new amendment, Bass stressed before the board voted in favor, would not delay the project or its funding.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is historic,\u201d Bass told the crowd that packed into a meeting room at Metro\u2019s downtown headquarters. \u201cToday we can say all aboard on what will be the highest ridership light rail in the country, easier commutes, less smog, more access to housing.\u201d<\/p>\n Explaining her push for a compromise, Bass said that Lafayette Square is one of Los Angeles\u2019s most significant historic Black neighborhoods. She recounted the history of nearby Sugar Hill, a once thriving Black community that was \u201cprofoundly disrupted\u201d by the construction of the 10 freeway.<\/p>\n \u201cThe concern here is, as we move forward, we just cannot repeat a history like that,\u201d Bass said, noting that I-10 divided communities, destroyed Black wealth, and left behind long-lasting physical and social barriers. \u201cThe K line presents an opportunity for a different choice, an opportunity to learn from this history and ensure that investment in transit uplifts rather than harms.\u201d<\/p>\n L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, a former West Hollywood mayor who sits on the Metro board, said she was grateful the mayors of Los Angeles and West Hollywood had taken the time to balance concern from the community with Angelenos\u2019 sense of urgency on the project.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we saw this week was a rising generation of Angelenos and working class people saying we don\u2019t have the luxury of waiting on a decision,\u201d she told The Times. \u201cWe need this decision to be made, and we need to be centered in this decision. \u2026 If a compromise allows us all to continue to move this project forward and keep moving at an accelerated pace to deliver for our residents, I\u2019m happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n But while both Horvath and Heilman backed the compromise struck with Bass, many residents and public transit advocates expressed fury at the amendment. Some noted in public comments that Metro had already spent millions of dollars on studies and community engagement. Others bristled at the mayor\u2019s comparison of the freeway and public transit. A few said they would never vote for Bass again.<\/p>\n \u201cWe should not spend over $150 million of public funds to reduce baseless, unscientific, unrealistic concerns about service tunnel noise from a very deep tunnel,\u201d said Thomas Smith, a longtime Angeleno. \u201cWhat next? Spending millions so that streetlights don\u2019t attract cows? A year of study to help aliens ride the train? A subway to Catalina?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cSiding with 22 NIMBYs over 68 million annual riders, many of which are people of color, is shameful,\u201d said one frequent Metro rider.<\/p>\n \u201cComparing subway tunneling to redlining and racism and freeway screens through Black and brown communities is not the same thing,\u201d said a resident of Glendale. \u201cYou know nothing about urban planning, and this is why you should not seek re-election.\u201d<\/p>\n Luke Klipp, district director for Congresswoman Laura Friedman, who wrote the AB 761 law <\/a>that would unlock billions in financing for the K Line extension without the need to raise taxes, said Friedman was concerned that any new requirements for more reports would needlessly waste taxpayer money.<\/p>\n About 150 Angelenos provided public comments Thursday ahead of the L.A. County\u2019s Metropolitan Transportation Authority\u2019s board vote on the proposed 9.7-mile route from San Vicente to Fairfax. The project would add nine stations, plus a terminus station at the Hollywood Bowl. It would also connect Angelenos to major job centers such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and destinations such as the Original Farmers Market and the Grove.<\/p>\n Metro has spent years exploring possible routes for the K Line northern extension, including a roughly eight-mile route with seven stations called Fairfax, and a six-mile route with six stations called La Brea. The staff ultimately recommended the longer San Vicente-Fairfax alignment because it is projected to attract slightly more riders and reach a much higher number of residents and jobs within a half-mile of the proposed stations.<\/p>\n In recent days, many backers of the K Line extension worried that Bass would delay the project or seek to change the route after her office put out a statement<\/a> Monday evening that she was \u201cvoting yes to advance the K Line full steam ahead\u201d while noting that she \u201calways sticks up for community voices, and will introduce a motion to ensure that.\u201d Her statement did not specify that she supported the San Vicente-Fairfax route.<\/p>\n As Angelenos lined up to speak Thursday, mostly in favor of Metro staff\u2019s recommendation, tensions were high. A few critics of the project expressed fear that the extension, in conjunction with the landmark Senate Bill 79 housing bill passed last year that overrides local zoning laws to expand high-density housing near transit hubs<\/a>, would trigger massive gentrification of West Hollywood.<\/p>\n \u201cGetting $4 billion for the [San Vicente-Fairfax] route from a speculative financial instrument is just a Hail Mary pass,\u201d a member of the Beverly Grove neighborhood association said. \u201cThe trains won\u2019t run for decades, but your vote today exposes our neighborhood to reckless development now, courtesy of SB 79.\u201d<\/p>\n Over the last two decades, Metro has constructed more than 14 miles of rail tunnels throughout the L.A. region and reports that it has experienced little to no issues with ground settlement beneath buildings and no vibration above tunnels. But after some residents of Mid-City expressed concerns about potential settlement damage and vibration to historic homes, Metro directed staff to conduct an extensive, peer-reviewed study exploring tunneling under historic communities.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the current analysis of soil conditions, tunnel depths, and tunnel design,\u201d its 2025 study<\/a> found, \u201cMetro predicts that noise and vibration from tunnel construction and subway operations would not be perceptible above the tunnels.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, Georgia Sheridan, senior director in Metro\u2019s Countywide Planning and Special Projects, said at Metro\u2019s Planning and Programming Committee<\/a> meeting<\/a> that the San Vicente-Fairfax route provides the greatest amount of benefits because it connects with major job centers such as Cedars-Sinai, as well as regional destinations such as the Grove and the former CBS Television City.<\/p>\n She assured residents that Metro\u2019s tunnel safety report found that modern tunnel construction techniques were \u201cvery safe and successful.\u201d Under Mid-City\u2019s historic neighborhoods, she said, the tunnels would be 80 to 100 feet underground.<\/p>\n Still, many residents spoke against the project. After hearing public comments, Metro\u2019s Planning and Programming Committee passed the vote to the board without approving the plan.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Bass told the crowd that passions had run so high in recent days that there had been an \u201ceffort out there to call on the Trump administration to investigate\u201d her and two other board members, Jacquelyn Dupont-Walker and Holly Mitchell. At the state of the meeting, Dupont-Walker and Mitchell announced that they had recused themselves from voting after Metro ethics advisors told them they had a conflict of interest.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people are told on video, \u2018This is how you report to the FBI to call on an investigation,\u2019 you need to think about that,\u201d Bass said. \u201cWe\u2019re in a situation that\u2019s very dangerous right now, and some of the fervor around that can also lead to physical threats and compromise people\u2019s safety.\u201d<\/p>\n The Metro board\u2019s vote for the San Vicente-Fairfax alignment for the K Line extension does not represent final approval. The project, estimated to cost between $11 billion and $15 billion, is contingent on local funding: West Hollywood would have to work with L.A. County to set up an Enhanced Infrastructure Financing District<\/a>, a public financing mechanism that allows it to dedicate a portion of future growth in existing property tax revenues to support the project, providing at least 25% of the capital cost estimate.<\/p>\n Metro estimates <\/a>construction would not start until 2041, because Measure M, the 2016 L.A. county sales tax measure that partially funds construction, would not unlock funds until that year. However, if West Hollywood and L.A. County can generate about $2.25 billion<\/a> of local funding for the project, they could expedite the project by several years.<\/p>\n Many details still have to be worked out. Before the vote, Metro Board member Ara J. Najarian voiced concern about whether the small city of West Hollywood would be able to work with the county and other jurisdictions to muster up billions in financing.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re only 30,000 people. Their budget is like $200 million,\u201d he said of West Hollywood. \u201cThat\u2019s a huge amount of money that we\u2019re going to be relying on them or requiring them to come up with.\u201d<\/p>\n