Hints of a Lawsuit in Beverly Hills over the Westside Subway Extension

In Century City, the north station location would bring a subway beneath Santa Monica Boulevard. The south station would mean tunneling under private properties. (image via Metro)

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In Century City, the north station location would bring a subway beneath Santa Monica Boulevard. The south station would mean tunneling under private properties. (image via Metro)
More details are coming out about Tuesday's Westside Subway Extension meeting in Beverly Hills. Well over one hundred residents came out, many of them in opposition of a proposed route that would connect a Rodeo Drive station to the middle of Century City. Although residents support the subway, there are fears of what tunneling under homes and schools would do, such as earthquake danger, vibration, noise and other issues.

But not only that, one public commenter spoke of a lawsuit, which is probably inevitable.

“Months ago, I wrote you a letter pointing out the danger you expose the MTA and the County by choosing a route under our homes in Westwood . I pointed out that your route would pass under more political activists and lawyers than you can possibly imagine,” said Charles Edelsohn, a board member for the Comstock Hills Homeowners Association, according to the Beverly Hills Courier. “Now you are compounding your folly by routing another section under Beverly Hills activists and Beverly Hills lawyers.”

One commenter said Beverly Hills High School and Good Shepherd School are emergency centers during major earthquakes and feels a subway tunnel underneath them would put the facilites at risk.

Another who spoke up said it would lower property values.

Metro staff argues that those who live above Red Line the tunnel have not complained. “If somebody were proposing to tunnel under my house, I would certainly ask a lot of questions and that’s part of why we do this environmental impact study,” Jody Litvak of Metro said, according to the Park La Brea News/Beverly Press. “The subways that exist today operate under all different kinds of private property, residential and business, at all different depths, and we do not get any complaints from anyone. They don’t feel it, they don’t hear it.”

The recent outpouring of Beverly Hills residents came this month after Metro introduced a new alternative. Original plans called for a station at Santa Monica Boulevard and Avenue of the Stars, at the edge of Century City and abut a golf course.

Via public suggestion, Metro looked into moving the station two-tenths of a mile toward the center of Century City and found that ridership would increase and thus stand more chance of federal funding. But the new station would mean tunneling under under at least 30 private properties, a mix of residential and non-residential. The original proposal ran the subway under Santa Monica Boulevard.

Previously
- Beverly Hills Community Opposition Building Against Westside Subway
- A Subway to the Sea or Not? Looking at the Realities of the Westside Subway
- 8 Ways Public Comment Has Changed the Planning of the Westside Subway Extension