Polemic in the Pages

Transit provocateur Damien Goodmon is featured in the new LA Weekly People issue. Goodmon, as head of Fix Expo, has been calling for the under-construction Expo Line from Downtown to Culver City to be grade-separated (going above or below the street) at every intersection it crosses. In a flattering profile entitled "No More Mr. Nice Guy," Goodmon's childhood in Leimert Park is documented as well as his ongoing fight with Metro. Goodmon believes people will be maimed by the train as it traverses South LA, though others see his campaign, and him, as obstructionist and publicity-hungry. His efforts seemed to have paid off at Dorsey High, which should be getting a pedestrian bridge at Farmdale Avenue, but he and his group want one at the Foshay Learning Center as well. Goodmon is purportedly a proponent of transit, but has threatened to file lawsuits that could delay or kill upcoming rail lines. Goodmon tells the Weekly that Metro has resisted his efforts at solutions for Expo: “We tell them, ‘We’ve done the work for you guys — all you have to do is be the heroes.' We don’t want the glory.” Whatever your feelings on Goodmon, keep it clean on the comment board, please. [LA Weekly] UPDATE: According to a press release put out today, FixExpo now wants Measure R resources to be used to extend the Expo trench by USC 3.5 miles west to Dorsey.