As Los Angeles moves to re-establish its rail system, communities along the proposed expansions have come to protest the building of rail lines in their backyard. LA Metro has built a fairly extensive rail system in Los Angeles, with the most recently built being the Expo Line. The Expo Line closed the much needed gap from Downtown to the Westside, yet the gap to the Ocean has not been closed. Beverly Hills has protested their proposed subway lines to the ocean, and the neighborhoods of Cheviot Hills and Westwood have put forward a full fledged lawsuit against the Federal Transit Authority. The neighborhoods of Cheviot Hills and Westwood are along the proposed expansion of the newly constructed Expo Line. This dispute relates to our reading of Sibley’s “Mapping the Pure and the Defiled”. Similar to Sibley’s discussion regarding the rich avoiding “pollution” and the Neighbors for Smart Rail’s (NFSR, the homeowners in the area) criticisms involve pollution: noise pollution, traffic pollution, and not as obvious but certainly on their minds, human pollution. In addition, crime is a concern for NFSR: the Expo Line phase 1 passes through many high crime areas and they insist that “Stations and parking lots have the highest crime rates in transit environments.” What I saw in Cheviot Hills was a picturesque, suburban-like neighborhood, that would also serve as an easy route for the Expo Line to reach the sea.
Mapping LA describes Cheviot Hills as being bordered by Beverly Hills, Beverlywood, Century City, Palms, Pico-Robertson, Rancho Park and West Los Angeles. It is among the lowest density areas in Los Angeles but average for the country. The median income is $111,813, comparable to Bel-Air or Rolling Hills. The majority of the community are homeowners (64.3%) with a 78.8% white population.
I began my survey at the start of Phase 2 of the Expo Line, behind a mini mall on Venice and Robertson. The existing Expo Line stops at Washington and National in Culver City. I drove along Exposition Boulevard which borders the right-of-way of Phase 2 throughout Palms. Along the way, I observed many working class apartment buildings.
Cheviot Hills has a different character, with the city defined by mostly single family homes, cul-de-sacs, well-tended lawns, and very little trash visible. Trees line the streets and almost enclose the narrow roads, much like an East Coast suburb. Some of the houses even had white picket fences and most had some sort of security system. The cars I saw parked and driving were all newer, mid-tier cars. Overnight street parking is prohibited in Cheviot Hills. Manning and Motor are the only major thoroughfares passing through Cheviot Hills, so this neighborhood is somewhat exclusive. There is a country club on Manning, signifying the exclusivity of this neighborhood.
To get an idea of the impact of Expo Phase 2, I surveyed the area bordering the proposed right-of-way and entered the area itself. Northvale Road is the street bordering the proposed right-of-way. The area I observed had mostly multi-family homes that were still characteristic of Cheviot Hills. The right-of-way was hidden from Cheviot Hills by a thick green wall. A pedestrian bridge linked this neighborhood to a park on the other side of the right-of-way.
The planned right-of-way will be established in a trench that was previously a right-of-way for an old railroad built in 1875. From the inside, I could see that houses bordered along both sides. However, the thick foliage between the right-of-way and housing could serve to block some of the noise produced by the trains. The hiss of the 10 freeway resonated throughout the area. As a result of being unused for years, the area underneath the 10 freeway has been a magnet for graffiti artists. This right-of-way looks to be the most logical place to construct a railroad to the sea.
What the residents of Cheviot Hills are fearing, ultimately, is the kind of “pollution” that Sibley talks about. The development of Phase 2 of the Expo line disregards the boundaries of this isolated community and threatens the stability of geographically established class divisions. The exclusivity of Cheviot Hills is being inundated by the city: the noise of trains, the danger of at-grade crossings, the increase of traffic through the major thoroughfares, and the threat of crime and homeless the Expo Line may bring. This community which is secluded from the rest of Los Angeles could become much more accessible to outsiders. In addition, the drop in property values is a concern for residents here, as home ownership is high. The defilement of their neighborhood is their central fear.
However, there are additional concerns over the crossings that are at grade and the potential dangers they create. The crossing located at Westwood and Overland, in nearby Rancho Park are due to could increase traffic and block off local access to streets and housing. Access is already restricted to Westwood and Overland because of the 10 freeway, and the right of way cuts the grid system off from each other except at Westwood and Overland.
The fight over Expo Phase 2 is not an easy one. Residents of Cheviot Hills do not want Expo to pass into their backyards, yet rail access to Santa Monica is a necessity. The proposed right-of-way makes sense since it builds on existing trenches. NFSR have proposed that MTA takes the money for Expo Phase 2 and use it for the extension of the Purple Line, but that extension has its own movement against it in Beverly Hills. Rail access to the sea has a difficult ride ahead of it, shaken by homeowners who just don’t want it in their backyard. The entrenchment of the city into their previously isolated communities threatens their perceived safety.
Update: Jim Newton's LA Times article discuses the building of the Expo Line tracks and these neighborhoods' efforts to stop it.
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