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8/3/2019 TIGER Grant Letter
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Please e‐mail [email protected] by 5PM on Monday,
November 21, 2011 if your organization would like to sign onto
the letter of support. If you have any questions, please contact
Fernando Ramirez at 213‐974‐2222. Thanks.
November 22, 2011
Honorable Ray LaHoodSecretary of TransportationU.S. Department of Transportation1200 New Jersey Ave., SE
Washington, D.C. 20590
Dear Secretary LaHood:
We, the undersigned organizations, submit this letter in support of the LosAngeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (LACMTA)Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery Discretionary Grant(TIGER) application to fund a Leimert Park Village station at Crenshaw Blvd. andVernon Ave. for the Crenshaw/Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) TransitCorridor Project.
LACMTA is scheduled to break ground on the Crenshaw/LAX Project next year.The project will introduce a new 8.5 mile light rail line from the heart of L.A.’sCrenshaw district through Leimert Park Village and the City of Inglewood andprovide connections near LAX. There has been significant communityparticipation during the design phase of the project. However, due to costlydesign and engineering requirements, the project lacks the funding to construct aLeimert Park Village station at Vernon.
Leimert Park Village is a thriving cultural and economic hub for not just theAfrican-American community in South Los Angeles but for the entire region. TheLeimert Park community has a long and unique history. The Village wasestablished as a model of urban planning. The surrounding community was afocal point during the Civil Rights Movement, the struggle for desegregation, andthe elimination of housing covenants that prevented African Americans and otherracial and ethnic groups from fully benefiting from the social and economicopportunities Los Angeles offered. The Village brings the arts and commercetogether and has functioned as an incubator for small business developmentwithin the community for more than 50 years. As further evidence of theneighborhood’s cultural significance, efforts are currently underway by the City of
8/3/2019 TIGER Grant Letter
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/tiger-grant-letter 2/2
Please e‐mail [email protected] by 5PM on Monday,
November 21, 2011 if your organization would like to sign onto
the letter of support. If you have any questions, please contact
Fernando Ramirez at 213‐974‐2222. Thanks. Los Angeles, to restore and reopen the Vision Theater in the heart of the Village.For these reasons, a Leimert Park Village Station is necessary to preserve the
economic vitality of this historic South LA landmark for future generations. It issimply unimaginable that this line would be built without a stop to service thearea.
Funding constraints for this largely locally financed project have beenexacerbated by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements elsewherealong the corridor adjacent Los Angeles International Airport’s south runways. Itis critical that the Department of Transportation favorably consider providingresources to help offset the locally-financed and costly design and engineering“safety” features required by the FAA.
Award of TIGER funding by the Department of Transportation to LACMTA willensure that the station is constructed in manner that is responsive to communityconcerns. This public investment in our community will bring many benefits: anew transit system that will provide congestion relief; an efficient, clean mode oftransportation to help improve air quality; as well as much needed jobopportunities in the area.
This project will result in immediate jobs to the community. We urge the ObamaAdministration and the Department of Transportation to grant this application. Wemust not allow this historic and cultural destination to be left off the train.
Sincerely,
C: Senator Dianne FeinsteinSenator Barbara BoxerCongresswoman Karen BassCongresswoman Maxine WatersCongresswoman Janice HahnCongresswoman Laura Richardson
