Subway Bill Under Fire

This letter is in response to Sen. Alan Robbins’ recent announcement that he will “clarify” his bill SB 1263 so that it will not prohibit the consideration of monorail as a possible east-west transit solution for the Valley.

The residents along the Ventura Freeway are actively opposed to monorail, Metro Rail or any other type of transit which runs above or next to residential streets and which operates in close proximity to homes. The homeowners of Sherman Oaks and other communities along the freeway have cooperated with Sen. Robbins in his previous efforts to find a consensus on this issue among warring factions. Recognizing that this type of transit is unmitigable and unlivable for residential areas unless placed underground, homeowner and business groups came together and backed him on SB 1263--a residential protection bill along the Burbank Chandler Route.

We supported Alan Robbins, not because we wanted to hurt our neighbors to the north, but because: a) we realized this project was coming whether we wanted it or not; b) it had to go underground if anyone was able to coexist near it; and c) the Burbank Chandler Route was the only one in contention which would allow for underground construction.

Not wishing to second-guess Sen. Robbins, I am, however, beginning to get the uncomfortable feeling that the bill we supported is going to be “clarified” just enough to cause confusion and misunderstanding on the whole transit issue.

I question the necessity of adding the possibility of monorail to this bill when the sole purpose of this document was to assure residential protection via subway construction. To assure protection for other routes, will the senator stipulate that any potential monorail operate within a huge 100-foot-tall tunnel to hide it from the homes across from it? Must we gear up once again to fight this towering concrete intrusion across from homes and next to schools?

And in the process be labeled NIMBYS by those who are angered by our resistance to this?

MIKIE MALONEY

Sherman Oaks

Maloney is a member of the Rail Transit Committee of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.