With less condescension than their usual articles about LA, The New York Times checks in on the Crenshaw Line light rail, currently in pre-construction work and still generating lots of controversy. The article covers the oft-heard cries of racial injustice from locals upset over the 8.5-mile line's section in Park Mesa Heights (which runs along the street at-grade), as well as the possibility that a station in Leimert Park Village will not be included in the project's final plans. Most noteworthy is that a contractor will be decided on in the next few weeks in March; that builder has the option of constructing the Leimert Village station if they can do it within the project's $1.8 billion budget. The mayor tells the Times he's "fairly confident" a Village station will make the cut. As far as pushing the Park Mesa Heights section underground, that seems like a longshot. Not only would that explode the budget, cries of racism would seem incongruous, since the under-construction Expo Line extension runs above-ground through nearly the entire length of white and wealthy Santa Monica.
· Rail Plan Stirs Distrust Among Black Angelenos [NY Times]
· Crenshaw Line Archives [Curbed LA]
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