Would you want to have a Metro Maintenance Yard in your community or on your street? Most people want the “status quo” and prefer that any new municipal, civic, cultural, and private development occur somewhere else. They’re called (“NIMBY”) which is the acronym for “Not in My Back Yard.”
Which brings me to the salient issue of today—we all want improved transit and public transportation in Los Angeles and environs—but most communities don’t want the Metro’s Maintenance Yards in their neighborhood, even though they’ve been proven to not be a nuisance in any way.
Main Objections to the Metro’s Maintenance Yards
1. Too much noise: Not true–the only noise which emanates is from the occasional train whistle. And that is mandated by Federal law which requires that the train whistle to warn anyone—or anything—which might be on or too close to train tracks. The Metro trains have several calibrated whistles and bends over backwards to ensure that they are “neighborhood friendly.”
In fact, the noise levels were much higher from the near-by Interstate 405 freeway than they were from Metro’s Maintenance Yards.
2. Potential Health Hazards: Another myth to be debunked. The Metro follows all Federal, State, and Local guidelines and takes extreme care having to do with the storage, usage, or transfer of toxic chemicals. Indeed they go the extra mile—keeping them protected and safe and sound in specially designed lockers which have very limited access for but a few of their workers. As listed above, not only are the guidelines met but there are also regular inspections by the very same local, state, and federal agencies to assure total compliance with all safety requirements. Personally, I think living next to a freeway is much more hazardous to one’s health than any potential from the Maintenance Yards. Even a step further it’s just as dangerous living with the threat of everyday urban life—traffic, gangs, violence, etc.
For further examination, let’s take a look at the Green Line Maintenance Yard. When it was first constructed in 1994, no homes were located nearby. Now, homes and hotels have been developed and are currently neighbors to the Metro’s Maintenance Yard.
Looking at the picture above, the green arrow points to the Green Line Maintenance Yard, the blue arrow points to a housing development that was built subsequent to the Yard, and the orange arrow point to a Marriott Hotel, also constructed after the Yard was built.
No complaints have ever been registered from any of these neighbors about the Yard.
Now, think of the benefits of having a light rail Metro line from downtown to Santa Monica.
1. Job possibilities
2. Cost-effective transportation
3. Less traffic congestion
4. Less air pollution
5. Maybe a little more exercise walking to and from the station
This is just the short list of positive effects of a Metro line coming to Santa Monica; but if a site for a Maintenance Yard can’t be found sooner than later, light rail construction will be delayed.
Let’s be progressive, use our heads, because when Travelin’ Local, we’re not NIMBY’S!
August 6th, 2009 →
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August 8th, 2009 →
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